UPDATED 7:40 p.m. Wednesday

A man tried to lure a fifth-grade boy into a vehicle in Dobbins Downs in Champaign on Tuesday, while another man tried to do the same with a youngster in Paxton on the same day.

An email sent to Champaign school parents Wednesday said that a fifth-grade boy from Carrie Busey School was walking home after getting off the school bus on Tuesday. 

A man in a red van tried to entice the boy into his van by offering candy, the email said. The student ignored the request and continued walking.

The child’s mother called police. The Champaign County sheriff's office is investigating, according to Champaign police Chief R.T. Finney. (Part of Dobbins Downs is in the city limits and part is outside, under the jurisdiction of the sheriff). In addition, the school district’s bus drivers “will be vigilant” in watching out for the children, the email said.

The district suggested parents speak to their children about “stranger danger” and remind them not to speak to anyone they don’t know, and to tell an adult they trust if they’ve been approached.

The only description of the man was of an African-American with braids in a red van.

Meanwhile, extra patrols are being provided around Paxton-Buckley-Loda schools after a man attempted to lure a child into his vehicle in Paxton, also on Tuesday.

Around 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, a man in a sport-utility vehicle, parked on Pells Street on the north side of the playground at PBL Eastlawn School, asked a boy who was standing there if he wanted to "hop the fence and go for a ride," Paxton Police Chief Bob Bane said.

The boy ran toward his teacher, who told Principal Barry Wright about the incident. Wright notified police, who arrived at 11:45 a.m.

The PBL school district put out an alert to parents Tuesday through its School Reach system.

Police also had extra patrols at the district's four schools on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday morning, Bane said, adding that "we will continue to."

Bane said police continue to search for the man, who was described as a white male in his 30s or 40s, with graying, slightly balding hair and with a beard, possibly a goatee. The man was smoking a cigarette when the incident occurred, Bane said. He was the only person in the vehicle.

The vehicle, described as a dark black or blue full-size sport-utility vehicle, was last seen heading east on Pells Street (Illinois 9). Bane said police do not know the vehicle's make or model.

Anyone who sees a suspicious person outside a school is asked to call police.