Quebec police have released descriptions of a car and man they believe are connected to the disappearance of 10-year-old Cedrika Provencher, giving the girl's father hope that his daughter may be found.

"We're talking about something concrete," Martin Provencher told reporters. "It gives me hope. It's progressing."

Police have told the public to be on the lookout for a white man with brown hair who has access to a red four-door Acura, likely manufactured between 2002 and 2004.

"This man could be your son, your brother, your uncle, your father," police spokesperson Sgt. Francois Dore told a press conference.

Police said they have received 4,000 tips since Cedrika went missing five weeks ago during a bike ride not far from her Trois-Rivieres home.

They said they will need more detailed information before they put out a composite sketch of the suspect. However, police were able to give the public some details about who they are looking for.

The man is described as:

• 30 to 40 years old
• White male with light brown hair
• Medium build and average height
• French-speaking
• Wearing sandals, Bermuda shorts and a short-sleeved T-shirt the day Cedrika went missing

The car is described as a four-door red Acura with a beige interior and chrome door handles.

"He parked his car in a very strange way, more than four feet from the side of the road," Dore told reporters.

"He went through this wooded area and came back a few hours later, almost at the same time as two young girls were getting out -- and we believe that one of the two young girls was Cedrika."

Police warned the public that the man may have altered his appearance or changed his car since he was last seen. Nonetheless, they said they have warned border authorities throughout Canada and the United States.

Cedrika went missing July 31 around 8:30 p.m. Neighbours told police the little girl asked them for help looking for a lost dog that didn't belong to her. After she went missing, several other young girls told police they too had been approached by a man asking them for help finding his lost puppy.

At the news conference, police told reporters they didn't release the descriptions earlier because they had to be "very sure" about what they were looking for.

Investigators repeated that they believe Cedrika is still alive because they have no information telling them otherwise.

Police say recent tips involving a sighting in the Gaspe, and one from a man who thought he saw his uncle kidnapping the girl, were unfounded. They also determined the Cedrika investigation had no connection with a red van Montreal police have been searching for since Monday.

"These tips led to nothing," said Dore.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux in Trois Rivieres