Girl, 11, tackled by suspected abductor used tactic from Law & Order to help police catch him

An 11-year-old girl fought off an attempt to kidnap her at a Florida bus stop and, thanks to watching tv show Law & Order: SVU, knew to leave evidence on her attacker to aid the police search for him.

Alyssa Bonal was playing with homemade blue slime while waiting for a bus in Pensacola on Tuesday morning when a man ran towards her.

As he grabbed her by the throat and threatened her with a knife, she was able to trip him and get blue dye from the slime on his arms.

The residue from the slime was part of the evidence that led police to arrest Jared Paul Stanga and charge him with attempted kidnapping, aggravated assault, and battery.

Amber Bonal, Alyssa’s mother said her daughter told her: “Somebody tried to kidnap me. He grabbed me by my throat and he had a knife.”

Speaking to Pensacola News Journal on Wednesday, Ms Bonal added: “She said, ‘Mom, I had to leave some sort of evidence behind, like on Law & Order SVU.’”

“We’ve watched probably every episode on Hulu. She’s a smart cookie, she thinks on her toes. She got that slime everywhere.”

Police were also able to track down Mr Stanga via surveillance footage of his white Dodge Journey which was found at his home. The video shows the attempted kidnapping.

He had attempted to paint over the front chrome bumper with black paint when Escambia County deputies arrived at the property. It was then that they saw the blue dye.

A judge set Mr Stanga’s bond at $1.5m in his first court appearance on Wednesday. His defence laywer argues that there are doubts as to whether he is the suspect as Alyssa was unable to select him from a photo lineup and had originally described him as Hispanic, whereas he is white.