An eight-year-old girl was rescued after her brother shot a 17-year-old kidnapper with a sling shot in Michigan.

The girl, who has not been identified, was on a mushroom hunt near the woods just outside of Alpena Township in the northern part of the state, police say. 

The victim's uncle posted on Facebook that the 17-year-old male suspect had a 'black mohawk' and had come out of the woods, covered the young girl's mouth and then tried to drag her away.

Her 13-year-old brother saw the tussle from inside the family's home and took action, grabbing his slingshot and firing objects at the would-be kidnapper's head and chest. 

'That caused him to let go,' said Lieutenant John Grimshaw, commander of the local post of the Michigan State Troopers. 

'The girl was able to struggle and get away and he shot another one hit the suspect in the chest and then fled the scene,' he told 9 and 10 News. 

Grimshaw said that the suspect admitted that his intent was to severely beat the eight-year-old girl after he'd kidnapped her. 

The suspect, who was also left unidentified due to his age, ran away from the two children and attempted to hide before authorities located him at a gas station nearby.  

The victim's brother was credited for his heroism and making it easier for police to identify the suspect.