Girl Who Fought Off Alleged Kidnapper Had a Strategy

What it comes down to is that an 11-year-old girl was a lot smarter than the man police say tried to kidnap her. Dramatic video emerged this week of a girl identified only as Alyssa fighting off and escaping from a man police describe as a would-be kidnapper in Pensacola, Florida. "The man got out of his vehicle holding a knife, came towards me and I tried to run but he caught me," Alyssa told the Today show, per NBC News. She was waiting for her school bus at the time, while mixing blue paint into a batch of homemade "slime." Alyssa says she deliberately smeared slime on the man while they struggled. "I knew that that might be better evidence if the cops do find him," she said, crediting Law and Order: Special Victims Unit for her idea.

When authorities later arrested 30-year-old Jared Paul Stanga, he had blue slime on his arms, notes CNN. Alyssa said she was proud of herself and figured that SVU lead character Olivia Benson would be, too. Mariska Hargitay, the actress who plays Benson, agrees. "You are one BRAVE, Strong and Smart young woman," she wrote on Instagram, adding that she was "honored to be part of your incredible story." Stanga remained jailed Thursday on charges of attempted kidnapping, battery, and assault, reports the AP. Police say he was spotted on video in a convenience store near the attempted kidnapping minutes after the attack, wearing the same color clothes as the assailant. (Actress Hargitay also was in the news on Thursday because of a new injury.)