The Lincoln County sheriff's department is investigating an attempted abduction Tuesday morning of a young girl in the Ashleigh Estates subdivision east of Troy, Mo.

Investigators said two sisters, ages 7 and 10, were trying to find their dog at about 10 a.m. Tuesday when one of the girls was approached by a man driving a van.

The man got out and reached for one of the girls. They ran away screaming, and the children's mother called police.

The driver was described as white with a triangle-shaped dark goatee.

The van was full-size, dark green, with tinted windows and a white stripe.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 636-528-8546.

The incident comes just weeks after 4-year-old Alisa Maier was abducted in Louisiana, Mo., about 30 miles north of Troy. Alisa was found safe a day later in Fenton, where her abductor dropped her off. The suspect, Paul S. Smith of Hawk Point, shot and killed himself as police approached him for questioning.