4 Kidnaping Attempts in Week Jolt 2 Beach Towns : Crime: Schoolchildren escape unharmed. Police are not sure if the same man is responsible.

Parents and police in two beach cities were on alert and Hermosa Beach school officials prepared Wednesday to close a campus to outsiders after apparent kidnaping attempts against four schoolchildren in the last week.

Police said they are uncertain if the same man is responsible for the four separate incidents in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach because the descriptions of the suspect differed slightly in each case.

All four children, ranging in age from 7 to 14, escaped unharmed when a man approached them and asked them to take a ride in his pickup truck.

Hermosa Beach police released three composite drawings after the three children who were approached in that city described the man. Police said they came up with different likenesses because more than one man could be responsible for the abduction attempts, the children might have given inaccurate descriptions or the man could have altered his appearance.

The three Hermosa Beach children and an 8-year-old girl from Manhattan Beach said the man who approached them was in his 20s or early 30s, about 6 feet tall and thin. His hair was variously described as red, blond and brown. Three of the children said the man had a mustache, while one said he was clean-shaven. Two children said the man drove a red pickup, while two said the truck was white.

“I don’t know if we are dealing with one person or more than one,” said Hermosa Beach Police Cmdr. John Mebius.

On March 7, the 8-year-old Manhattan Beach girl was walking to Pacific Elementary School when a man called to her from his white pickup truck, police said. As she walked by, the man opened his door and appeared to be masturbating inside, Sgt. Jack Zea said.

Last Thursday, a man driving a red pickup pulled alongside and tried to speak to a 10-year-old boy walking home from Hermosa Valley School, said Hermosa Beach Police Sgt. Spike Kelly.

On Friday, a man walked onto the playground at the same school and told a 7-year-old girl that her mother wanted her to ride home with him.

And on Tuesday, a 14-year-old boy told police that he was walking home from Mira Costa High School when a red pickup truck pulled up and the driver told him to get in.

In all four cases, the children ran off and reported the incidents to their parents or school officials.

More parents have been escorting their children to school this week, school officials said. Police said they plan to have plainclothes officers patrol around schools in both cities. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Hermosa Beach Mayor Roger Creighton called on citizens to be extra vigilant. And Wednesday night, the Hermosa Beach school board was expected to close Hermosa Valley School to everyone but students, teachers and visitors with passes. The campus had been open to provide residents access to the beach.

“We don’t know everybody walking across campus,” said Principal Shalee Cunningham. “We feel we need to close the campus to make security 100% effective.”

The school has sent out two notices alerting parents to the incidents.

Police said these precautions and the safety training that students receive in school have paid off. “These kids are great,” Mebius said. “They did exactly the right thing. When they were accosted, they ran.”