COEUR d'ALENE - Coeur d'Alene Police do not believe the department is looking for a serial child enticer.

After a string of reports that children were being lured by adults outside of school zones, officers have determined a few of the cases were unfounded, the department said.

Several cases do remain active, and the Coeur d'Alene Police Department is holding a town hall meeting tonight at 6 in the Community Room of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library to update and inform parents on the importance of educating their children about 'stranger danger.'

"This was just timely," Sgt. Christie Wood, spokesperson, said on the topic of the quarterly Block Watch Captains meeting. "There have been a number of incidents in the city and the county that are very worrisome for parents, so that's part of the reason. Hopefully this will alleviate some of those fears."

Since January 2010, law enforcement agencies across Kootenai County received 18 reports of child enticement, eight of which were in Coeur d'Alene. Those numbers aren't significant or out of the ordinary as far as yearly stats, departments said, but several were reported in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene within weeks between November and December, which heightened sensitivity.

A February report by a young girl at Borah Elementary School was cleared unfounded, as was one of the three recent Post Falls enticing reports, according to the Post Falls Police Department.

Post Falls Police Chief Scott Haug said number of recent reports is "a real eye-opener."

"We're still working on the other two cases, and we're very concerned," he said.

Another report from a child in Coeur d'Alene in December is inconsistent, police said.

False reports are usually filed because the children needed an alibi to escape trouble, have active imaginations, or were just warned about child enticement and reported one.

But the most recent case March 20 involving two young girls and an older man is believed to be legit, Wood said.

Investigators said it happened at 12:35 p.m. in the area of South 12th Street and Young Avenue. They said an 8-year-old girl and 6-year-old girl were riding their bicycles on the northwest corner of the intersection, when a suspect - described as an older man with a thin build and tall with short brown hair, brown eyes, and a mustache - pointed at the girls as he got out of his vehicle.

According to a police report he yelled at the girls "hey you two," and then approached the girls and said "let's go" as he grabbed at the 6-year-old girl's arm.

The girls were able to run away from the man who chased them for a short distance westbound on Young Avenue. The girls ran to their home and reported the incident to their parents who called police.

That case involves a blue/gray van with brown sides. A blue van has been reported in other reports, but Wood said they're not ready to link any of the cases.

"We always error on the side of caution and put whatever suspect or vehicle description we have out to the media but so far the descriptions are not similar enough to say any of the cases are related," she said.

Of the eight Coeur d'Alene cases since January 2010, one has resulted in a citation, according to police. In 2009 the city had five reports.

Police Chief Wayne Longo will host tonight's meeting, and will take questions from the attendees.

"We all share a responsibility in keeping our community safe," Longo said. "I hope community members will join us and our Block Watch Captains in this important discussion."

It's expected to last around 90 minutes, with a question-and-answer portion. Other items on the evening agenda will be a presentation on protecting against Internet crimes against children, and information on the school resource officer program.