Halifax Regional Police are investigating a possible incident of child luring at the Atlantic Superstore on Joseph Howe Drive. (CBC)

Halifax Regional Police are asking for help identifying a man they say lured a four-year-old boy to the bathroom of a supermarket.

Officers were called to the Atlantic Superstore on Joseph Howe Drive in Halifax at 1:36 p.m. on Wednesday, where they were told a man had approached a four-year-old boy and taken him to the bathroom upstairs.

The man left the bathroom with the child but when he got to the main floor, he walked out of the store and left the child behind, said Halifax Regional Police Const. Brian Palmeter.

The boy was found unharmed and returned to his parents.

"Our concern is that his motive might have been to try and walk out of the store with the child," Palmeter told CBC News.

"There's no information to suggest the child was physically or sexually assaulted. Our concern is that this individual approached the child, removed him from the care of his parents, took him to an isolated area and that — in and of itself — is very concerning to us."

Palmeter said Atlantic Superstore staff worked quickly when the four-year-old's mother noticed he was gone. They manned the doorways and began making announcements over the speakers.

"There were staff actively looking for this child, they were manning the exits. We can't rule out the possibility that that played a factor in him deciding to leave the child and walk out on his own," he said.

"We're thankful that the child was located fairly quickly."

The suspect is described as a white man, between 25 and 35 years old, weighing about 220 pounds with short, brown hair.

At the time of the incident, he was wearing a zip-up blue and white checkered hoodie, dark pants, a green ball hat with white stripes and sunglasses on top of the hat.