Two attempted abductions of young girls in Langley may be linked, and the RCMP are asking for help finding a suspect.

The most recent attempted kidnapping took place on Feb. 1, when a 12-year-old girl was walking alone on 205th Street near 51st Avenue in Langley City.

A man in his 30s grabbed her wrist as she passed him on the sidewalk. The girl shoved him and ran home, where she immediately told her parents, said Cpl. Holly Marks, spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.

Police let the public know about the incident immediately, and have now created a sketch based on the girl’s description of her attacker.

Both the incident itself, and the sketch were strikingly similar to those arising from another attempt last fall.

On Oct. 31 in Fort Langley, around noon, a 12-year-old girl was approached by a man near the civic cemetery.

The man grabbed her wrist, and the girl screamed, kicked him in the shins, and ran back to Langley Fine Arts.

In neither incident did the man say anything.

“It’s obviously very concerning,” said Marks.

The two incidents are extremely similar, but took place months apart and in two different neighbourhoods of Langley.

The RCMP Serious Crime Unit has taken over the investigation of the case, sketches are being shown to every shift of officers, and are being sent out to every school in the district.

Police on patrol will be keeping an eye out for the individual.

After the first incident, there were several calls to CrimeStoppers, but nothing that let police develop a concrete lead to a suspect, Marks said.

Police are now asking residents of Langley to study both sketches and, if they believe they know anything at all, to call the police.

In the most recent attempt, the man is described as Caucasian, in his 30s, with scruffy brown hair, standing about 5’9” with a stocky build, and a scratch on the right side of his face.

He was wearing a black zip-up hoodie, dark blue jeans and white Nike runners. His silver-banded watch had Roman numerals, and was on his right wrist.

The man was driving a white pickup truck with a large dent on the rear passenger side near the tailgate, and a dent on the driver’s side door surrounded by scratches.

In the earlier Fort Langley incident, no vehicle was seen.

Anyone with information on either attempted abduction, or the person in the sketches, is asked to call the Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200. To remain anonymous, contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through www.solvecrime.ca or by texting BCTIP and your message to CRIMES (274637) or by visiting www.facebook.com/metrovancouvercrimestoppers.