An 11-year-old Washington state girl helped thwart the attempted kidnapping of her toddler sister at a Yakima park on Tuesday.

Yakima police said that a homeless woman snatched the 3-year-old girl in Miller Park shortly before 9 p.m. and ran and that the little girl’s sister took off after her.

The 11-year-old caught up with the suspect and her sister, but the suspect knocked her to the ground. At about that time, two men who had seen the incident took the suspect to the ground and held her there until police arrived.

Police said none of the girls’ family knew the suspect.

“Officers believed the female suspect was suffering from mental health issues based on her behavior and statements she made to the officers,” Yakima Police Captain Jay Seely said.

Seely also thanked the two men who intervened, noting that they didn’t want to be identified. But, he said, they “recognized the situation and immediately acted, preventing every parent’s worst nightmare — having a child abducted.”

Samantha Ricarda Garcia has been charged with 2nd degree kidnapping and two counts of 4th degree assault, according to jail records.

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