Eden, NC-- A four year old playing in his own front yard was almost kidnapped, according to Rockingham County Deputies.

Around 7:11pm Thursday April 12, investigators said they got a call from the child's mother, Islay Esther Martinez about a strange man trying to take her child from their front yard.

Martinez said an unknown Hispanic Male between 50 to 60 years of age approached her son while he was in the yard and started talking to him.  She said the stranger asked him questions and at one point held her son but wouldn't let him go.

Deputies said Martinez and her sister-in-law were able to get the boy away from man. 

The man left in a black Chevrolet Cavalier with tinted windows. Detectives released a picture of the man, who was spotted inside a nearby convenience store after the attempted kidnapping.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about the identity of the man and/or his whereabouts to contact Detective Ray Joyce at 336-634-3238 ext. 4110 or Rockingham County Crimestoppers at 336-349-9683.