Kidnapped woman's note to good Samaritan leads to her rescue, arrest of abductor: Sheriff
A woman abducted by an armed man in a wig and posing as an Uber driver was rescued when a gas station pit stop gave her the chance to slip a note to a customer telling her to call 911, officials said.
lawandcrime.com
A woman abducted by an armed man wearing a wig and posing as an Uber driver was miraculously rescued when a gas station pit stop in Arizona gave her time to slip a note to a woman telling her to call 911, authorities said.
The case broke on Tuesday at about 5 p.m. at a Chevron in Seligman, in northwestern Arizona.
“Help, [redacted] call 911. Blue Honda van. [redacted] Going to Kingman and Las Vegas,” the victim’s note shared by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office reads.
Deputies responded immediately.
“The victim’s extraordinary action in passing the note, the customer’s willingness to assist, and the quick actions of YCSO and DPS saved the victim from her kidnapper and allowed her to return home with her family,” the agency said in a news release.
When deputies arrived at the gas station, the good Samaritan said the van had just left, was headed west on Interstate 40, and described the victim’s clothing and the man she was traveling with.
The sheriff’s office alerted the Department of Public Safety, which spotted the van at Mile Post 116 on I-40 near Seligman and made a traffic stop. Jacob Wilhoit, 41, was detained, and the victim was rescued. Authorities found multiple firearms inside in plain view, officials said.
Wilhoit was booked into the Yavapai County Jail for harassment, threatening and intimidating, aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, and other assault charges. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.
