Two elementary students on their way to school in Kennewick were approached by an unknown man who tried to get them to get into his truck, police said Thursday.

The girls didn't recognize the man, ran to a nearby apartment and the man drove away, said Mike Blatman, Kennewick police spokesman.

The incident occurred around 7:50 a.m. Thursday, when the two Hawthorne Elementary School students were walking near Hood Avenue and Morain Street. Hawthorne is at 3520 W. John Day Ave.

The students said the man stopped his truck and said "get in the car," Blatman said.

The girls became frightened and ran to a nearby apartment. The man made no attempt to grab or follow them and drove away, he said.

"These kids did exactly what they should do," Blatman said. "They ran to the closest available help. ... They didn't know the man and they decided they were going to run the other direction."

The girls, who are 5 and 9, went to an apartment nearby and a resident at the apartment escorted them to the school crosswalk. A district employee was told about the incident and school officials called police.

The suspect is described as being 40-50 years old, with a salt and pepper goatee and mustache. He was said to be wearing a long-sleeve red shirt with white stripes and also may have been wearing brown cowboy boots.

The truck was described as being red with a high white canopy. It may have had a ladder on top with small letters or numbers on the side.

Blatman encourages parents to use this incident as a reminder to talk to their kids about safety and being conscious of their surroundings.

"Talk to kids about these types of situations. ... (They should) holler, scream and yell and run in the other direction," he said.

It's also safer to walk in a larger group, and an adult should walk with them, if possible, he said.

Anyone with information about the suspect or incident can call Kennewick police at 628-0333. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers at 586-8477 or tricitiescrimestoppers.org.