An Arizona mother is going public with her story to reveal how her 11 year-old daughter was saved from being kidnapped by a code word her family had created.

Last Wednesday, the unnamed little girl was walking in a park in San Tan Valley with a friend at around 3:45 p.m. when a man in a white van pulled over and told her that her brother had been in a terrible accident.

“He told her that her brother had been in a serious accident and that she needed to come with him,” said Brenda James, the girl’s mother.

Thankfully, the family had come up with a code word to ask a stranger if any of them ever ended up in this type of situation. The young girl remembered the word to ask. When the girl asked the stranger for the code word, the man panicked and fled.

“The guy covered his face, panicked, and took off,” said Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.

The man’s face was covered during their interaction, so the girl was not able to get a good look at him. Police only know that he is a white man with a short beard, and that he is most likely in his 40s.

Police are praising Brenda for coming up with the code word plan, as it surely saved her daughter’s life.

“Kudos to the parents of this child for having a code word and talking about to their children about stranger danger,” Lamb said. “We hope by putting this out, it will encourage parents to have that conversation and create a plan with their children, so they know what to do if they are in that situation.”

Brenda said that while her daughter is alright, she was so shaken up from the incident that she stayed home from school the next day.

“I never thought it would be used, but I’m proud of her for remembering that and knowing to use that,” Brenda said. “This one time, it saved my daughter’s life.”