A woman has been rescued after she was kidnapped Friday morning, May 12 at a convenience store in Washington, USA and kept naked for hours in the cab of a U-Haul truck.
According to authorities she was rescued later Friday night after a police pursuit in Maryland, according to Maryland State Police.
Police said in a statement that officers arrested Dennis Bell, 62, of Lanham, in Prince George’s County, and charged him with more than a dozen criminal offenses including assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, a sex offense, possession of suspected crack cocaine and driving while impaired.
Authorities said Bell, who police said also faces 19 traffic-related charges, was being detained in jail in Prince George’s County.
Police said the victim, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. Police allege that Bell stabbed the woman in the fingers with a pocket knife.
The incident began Friday morning at a convenience store. Police said the woman told them Bell pushed her into the U-Haul vehichle and “threatened her life if she did not comply with his demands.”
Police said Bell drove the truck all day with the woman sitting on the floor at the front seat. The woman told police Bell removed her clothing. She told police she did not know where she was throughout the ordeal.
About 9:45 p.m., state police said motorists reported a U-Haul truck driving erratically and hitting parked vehicles near Princess Garden Parkway in Lanham. State police said officers located the truck on Route 450 and began a pursuit when the driver refused to stop. Police said the chase ended at Baltimore Avenue and Elm Street when the vehicle got stuck in a ditch.
Police said Bell refused to get out of the vehicle and officers got in through a passenger side window. There and then they found the victim and arrested Bell.
Police say the suspect will soon be charged to court. Investigation continues.
