An e-mail circulating among Santa Clarita Valley residents saying a pair of gardeners in Stevenson Ranch tried to kidnap little girls is, at best, an exaggeration, sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

The e-mail — sent out by a local martial arts studio that teaches children’s self-defense classes — also includes descriptions of the men, their truck and their license plate numbers.

Sheriff’s officials were concerned that the potentially innocent men may become the victims of vigilantes.

“There is no immediate danger to the public or to our children that we’re aware of pertaining to this e-mail,” said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Darren Harris.

Phone calls to the martial arts studio Friday were not returned.

About noon Wednesday, a parent called the Sheriff’s Station saying that two gardeners may have told a pair of young girls, “get in,” before driving away in their vehicle, Harris said.

The parent declined an offer to have sheriff’s deputies drive out to the scene, he said.

Sheriff’s detectives were investigating the incident and tracking down the men for questioning but have not gathered enough information to file a report, Harris said.

The e-mail, which advertises the studio’s child self-defense classes, paints the incident in a far more dramatic light:

“Similar to the scenes in our Kidz n Power videos, the men pulled along side of the girls and with a ‘stern’ voice said... ‘HOP IN,’” the e-mail said.

“The girls yelled ‘NO GET AWAY’. (sic) Angered by this, and determined to abduct the two girls, the two men got out of the car and closed in on the girls. Our (martial arts) student quickly grabbed her stunned friend and ran screaming for her friend’s front door.”

The e-mail then describes the men and their vehicle and gives their license plate number.

Harris said no one told deputies about any attempt to grab the girls. The men may have simply said something, he said.

“At this point we don’t know exactly what was said,” he said. “The way that it’s worded in the e-mail is not entirely accurate with what the initial report was or what the initial caller stated.”