Gardaí are investigating the possibility of a link between a series of attempted abductions of children in the north-east region. This follows the latest incident involving two girls in Dundalk.
They have advised all young people to be vigilant after the attempted abduction of two girls in the town on Wednesday night.
The possibility that the same man may have been involved in two other incidents in recent weeks is being examined. Another "inappropriate approach" to a 12-year-old girl is believed to have occurred later on Wednesday.
A Garda team based in Dundalk has also extended their investigation to Northern Ireland.
The publicity given to the possible abduction in Britain of 10-year-old friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman appears to have helped prevent the Dundalk girls from going off with the man behind the Dundalk incident.
Gardaí have appealed for the public's assistance with the incident, which took place close to a busy shopping centre and close to the homes of the grandmothers of both girls. They are also investigating similar approaches made to young girls in the same part of the town in July and March, and whether there is a connection with the most recent incident.
Yesterday, nine-year-old Kelly Mullen and her 10-year-old friend and neighbour Ciara Brady said they didn't want to end up in the newspapers the way Holly and Jessica had and also reminded young people not to accept lifts from strangers.
They spoke about how he had stopped his white car, a Northern Ireland-registered Toyota Corolla, beside them as they played football with friends within sight of their family homes in Cedarwood Park, Cox's Demesne.
"He pulled up and asked for directions to the back of the houses and then went up and turned and came back to us and said could he get directions to the chapel because my cat is stuck there. Then he said he'd give us €10 if we would get into the car with him," Ciara said.
That was at 8.10 p.m. and about 90 minutes later gardaí believe the same man pulled up alongside a 12-year-old girl in another estate in Cox's Demesne. However, she was called by her brother and the man drove off. Gardaí were treating it as a suspicious approach.
The police detective leading the search in central England for two missing 10-year-old girls made a direct plea yesterday to any possible abductor.
Best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman disappeared near a Cambridgeshire sports centre on Sunday, but a massive police hunt and a £1 million reward have yet to yield a clue.
Police are increasingly convinced the girls were abducted.
Earlier yesterday, police released CCTV footage of the girls, both dressed in red David Beckham Manchester United football tops, near the sports centre where they were last seen.