Creepy clown spotted near the woods in Pittsburgh.
A person dressed in a clown costume stands amongst attendees during the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in Manhattan, New York on Oct. 31, 2016. REUTERS

Police were on the hunt for two men dressed as clowns over the weekend after they reportedly scared children in the woods near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Saturday. The clowns chased the children, who were playing a game of hide-and-seek in a wooded area of West Mifflin, according to reports.

The father of the three children called the police after his kids came home screaming. In a police report, the children said the two clowns were carrying weapons.

Although Michael Milkowski, the father of children, said he didn’t believe the kids at first, after looking outside he told police he also saw two men running up a hill dressed like clowns.

“I said to my kids, ‘Are you lying or something,’ and they were like, ‘No we’re being really serious.’ I looked over and they showed me where they were and there’s two guys running up a hillside,” Milkowski told CBS News’ Pittsburgh affiliate. “I just said, ‘Hey what are you doing over here,’ and they just kept running.”

One of the victims, eight-year-old Dylan Milkowski, said the men, who had on clown outfits as well as clown masks, were carrying pipes and shotguns.

Police officers searched the area but were unable to locate the men.

Clown sightings have been on the decline since the phenomena first started in the Southeast region of the U.S. and then spread as far as Germany in the weeks leading up to Halloween 2016.

The violent clown sightings caused authorities all around the globe to issue warnings in October, with departments releasing statements calling for the arrest of anyone who caused neighborhood disturbances while wearing clown suits.

The creepy trend first started Aug. 1 after a clown was spotted walking around with black balloons in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That was followed by another report of clowns in Greenville Country, South Carolina, trying to lure children into the woods on Aug. 29, 2016.