Police in Kaikoura are seeking a man who reportedly tried to force a boy into a car in Goose Bay on Sunday evening.
They say the driver of a light blue four-door sedan with black tinted windows parked at about 8.45pm in a grassed area on the seaward side of State Highway 1.
He ran toward the boy sitting in the grass, grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him towards the vehicle.
The boy escaped and raised the alarm.
Police say the driver was wearing a black hooded top.