The kidnapping of a 7-year-old girl in north Minneapolis earlier in December may be related to another child abduction in the same area in October, police said Monday.

Officials didn't provide specific details of the earlier case, which was not reported until news of the Dec. 6 kidnapping went public. In that case, a man lured the girl away from a group of children by asking her to help him "find his puppy." The girl was found about two hours later, a few blocks from her babysitter's home on the 3100 block of James Avenue N.

Police have not said if the girl was physically harmed in the incident.

Cmdr. Catherine Johnson, the head of the Minneapolis Police Department's violent crime investigative division, said the earlier kidnapping took place in early to mid-October. She said the incident wasn't reported to police because the child's family had "other concerns unrelated to the incident."

But Johnson said investigators believe there are enough similarities between the two cases to believe they may be linked. The child in the first incident was also returned to his or her family, and the abduction took place in the police department's Fourth Precinct, which covers north Minneapolis.

Police are searching for a suspect they believe is a white man in his 30s, who was wearing a dark-colored jacket with a silver or gray stripe at the time of the Dec. 6 abduction. They believe the man owns two larger dogs, one black and one white, and was driving a four-door sedan, which may have been green.

Johnson said police have received several tips, but need more help. She urged neighbors in the area to be vigilant in spotting and reporting suspicious behavior by calling 911, or the department's tip line: 612-692-8477.

"The smallest detail, the smallest missing piece may be the thing that helps us solve this case," she said.

The department has released a photo of the suspect and plans to distribute fliers around the area where the abductions took place.

Johnson declined to release additional details about the suspect, but said he should be considered a risk.

"Anyone who would do something like that, abduct a child in any way, shape or form, is a dangerous person," she said.

Erin Golden • 612-673-4790