The girls protected themselves the only way they knew how — kicking and scratching their attempted kidnapper and throwing a cup of iced coffee in his face.

That was the scene in Millington, Mich., a small village with 1,000 residents situated 35 miles north of Flint, on the evening of Aug. 10. A 22-year-old man, identified as Bruce Hipkins, tried to abduct Allison Eickhoff, 11, her father and the police said.

At about 10 p.m., Allison, her 13-year-old sister Lauren, and two of their friends were outside the Speedway convenience store on State Road, having just come from the village’s annual Old-Fashioned Summer Festival, where the community had gathered for street parties, tractor shows, a frog-jumping contest and a lively parade.

The man followed the girls out of the Speedway and across the street into a parking lot. According to the Millington Police, he grabbed Allison by the face and mouth and told her she was coming with him.