An attempted child abduction reported on Saturday has been deemed a "misunderstanding," Rochester police said.

Police had been investigating the case after two children said a man in a white van wearing a painter's mask stopped his vehicle while they were on their bicycles on Alley Road.

After a day long investigation, police said they discovered a man from Cohasset came to Rochester to buy hay and became lost trying to find his way home.

Police received a phone tip from a resident who had done business with the man.

The tipster told police that when the man left his business, he was wearing a mask due to a hay allergy. The lost driver, hoping to get directions, stopped when he saw the children, but they became scared and fled. The children identified the man from photos provided by police. He has no criminal record. Police report that the incident appears to have been misunderstanding.

Rochester Police Chief Paul Magee praised the children for trusting their instincts and fleeing the area when the man stopped and also the parents for quickly reporting the incident to police. "It appears to be a case where the man showed poor judgment by stopping to ask young children for directions. In this day and age, people should know better than to do that."