Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Abducted Woman Uses Cell Phone for Help

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 16:07:55 -0400

Abducted Woman Uses Cell Phone for Help
An Ohio woman used her cell phone after being kidnapped and thrown in the trunk of
her abductors’ car. The woman reportedly sent an SMS message to her boyfriend who
alerted authorities of the situation. The woman later was able to free herself,
showing once again the crucial role wireless devices play in these situations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Text Message Helps Save Kidnapping Victim
Suspect Allegedly Puts Woman In Trunk Of Car
UPDATED: 7:38 p.m. EDT October 23, 2003

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A 21-year-old woman from the city's west side said she was tied
up and abducted from her apartment Wednesday afternoon by a masked man. She said a
text message from her cell phone eventually helped save her life.
Sarah Roberts, 21, told NewsChannel 4's Elenora Andrews in an exclusive interview
that a masked man pushed her into a chair in her apartment, located in the 1400
block of Belvoir Boulevard, locked her front door and trashed the apartment while
chasing her around at gunpoint.

Roberts said she thought the person at the door was a maintenance man, so she
opened the door. But she said the burglar-turned-kidnapper eventually tied her up,
took her to her car and forced her to drive through parts of Columbus before
stopping the car in a secluded wooded area. The kidnapper then made her climb into
the trunk of her car.
Roberts said she cried as her abductor drover her around for more than six hours
before finally stopping the car. That's when Roberts said she remembered that she
had a cell phone in her back pocket. The only thing she could think of doing was
calling her boyfriend.

"I was sitting at home working on my physics homework," Brandon Moskal said. "I
had my computer online sitting next to me in case anyone wanted to talk. Then I
get her message saying, 'Help.'"
Roberts had sent Moskal an instant message from her cell phone.

"He asked me where I was, and I said, 'I'm in the trunk and I don't know where I
am,' " Roberts said.
"So I IM'ed her and said to stay on the phone
because I'm calling the police," Moskal said.

That's when Roberts said she
got brave. She said she
busted through the back
seat of her car and noticed
that the kidnapper was
gone.

She said she saw the keys to her car on the floor mat, picked them up and drove
away. She called her boyfriend, who then met her with police at the closest
landmark in the 6000 block of Gender Road, Andrews reported.
Columbus police said they are investigating the case.

The kidnapper is described as a white man with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6
feet tall with a stocky build, wearing a red ski mask and dark-colored clothing,
and was armed with a handgun.
Stay with NewsChannel 4 and refresh nbc4columbus.com for additional information.
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2575204/detail.html

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