News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Andrew Burns, left, Owen Burns, center, and Margaret Burns pose with a slingshot Owen used to thwart an alleged kidnapping attempt of his sister. He hit the suspect twice and forced him to flee. Police later apprehended the suspect hiding in a gas station. The family and police held press conferences at the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post in Alpena on Wednesday.

ALPENA — With a marble, a rock, and a slingshot, Owen Burns thwarted an alleged kidnapping attempt on his younger sister in Alpena Township last week.

The 13-year-old boy heard his sister’s screams while she was outside the family’s home. When he saw his sister struggling to free herself from a man who was trying to pull her into the woods. Burns grabbed his slingshot, drew it back, took aim, and landed a pair of blows, one to the man’s head and another to his chest.

The injuries from the shots helped police identify and connect 17-year-old Noah Adkins to the alleged incident.

Adkins was arraigned in 88th District Court on May 11 on one count of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, one count of attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery. The bond was set at $150,000 cash surety. He may be charged as an adult.

Adkins appeared in court on Wednesday for a probable cause hearing.

Owen Burns said he was at home in his room playing games when he heard a pair of screams from his sister, who managed to break free from the suspect, which caused Owen to look out the window for her.

Quickly, Owen said, he realized his sister was in danger, so he grabbed his slingshot and launched a pair of shots from the window.

Both shots found their mark.

“I heard the first scream and thought it was nothing, then I heard her scream again and I saw someone was trying to kidnap my sister and it made me furious,” he said. “I hit him twice and I’m sure he was cussing, because I was cussing at him because he was trying to kidnap my sister.”

After both kids were safe inside the house, they called their mother and the police were notified and a description of the suspect was aired. Police were able to find the man hiding at a nearby gas station and police saw the wounds on his head and chest that were consistent with those that would have been sustained from the slingshot.

Margaret Burns, the mother of the two children, said her son is doing well since the incident, but added that her daughter is still slightly upset over the ordeal and wants to put it behind her.

“She’s doing ok, but she just wants to forget and act as if it never happened,” Margaret Burns said.

The children’s father, Andrew Burns, said his son doesn’t use or practice shooting his slingshot often, but he added, Owen has been taught how to handle other firearms.

“I practice with him, with his BB gun, and worked with him on his aim and took him out on the range, so he has experience and is a very good shot,” Andrew Burns said. “The slingshot was just something we wanted to play with, so for him to step up and do what he did for his sister was amazing.”

When asked what his sister means to him and why he leaped into action to protect her, Owen Burns offered a typical big brother response.

“I only did it because I kind of love her a little bit,” he said.

Spl/Lt. Derrick Carroll, the Michigan State Police 7th District public information officer, said the kids acted as they should to protect themselves.

“We saw both aspects of fight or flight,” Carroll said. “The victim attempted to flee and the brother took on the fight. We had the best of both worlds and luckily it worked out.”

Margaret Burns praised local police who responded to the house and participated in the search and arrest of the suspect. She said police responded quickly, provided updates, and most importantly, located and took the suspect into custody.

“The police were great. It felt like after I got off the phone with them they were at the house in a few seconds,” she said. “They were extremely thorough. I don’t think anyone else could have done a better job.”