Woman Goes to Pa. Police Station after 'Nodding Off' Accused Armed Kidnapper Forces Her to Drive
What to know
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A woman escaped an accused kidnapper after he forced her to drive, and she steered to a Scottdale police station, where she ran inside for safety.
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Shawn Prince allegedly threatened to kill a child, held the victim at gunpoint overnight in the woods and later fled after she escaped.
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Prince remains at large and faces charges including kidnapping, assault, terroristic threats and harassment.
An accused kidnapper was “nodding off,” so he made a woman drive and she ended up driving to a police station, Pennsylvania officials said.
On Oct. 1, Scottdale officers responded to the woman’s home to perform a welfare check following her family saying they hadn’t heard from her since a previous domestic violence incident with Shawn Prince, according to a news release by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.
When officers arrived, the home was empty with the door open and the woman’s phone inside, officials said.
During the check, officers learned the victim had called 911 and was at a police station, prosecutors said.
She told officers Prince had kidnapped her on the morning of Sept. 29 and threatened to cut her friend’s child’s throat if she didn’t comply with his demands, officials said.
That’s when Prince drove the woman to a rural area in the woods and held her at gunpoint as she got out of the car, officials said.
The two stayed in the woods overnight until they began driving again the following morning, officials said.
Prince started getting sleepy so he had the woman drive, officials said.
She didn’t know where she was at first but after learning of her whereabouts near Ohiopyle she drove to the police station, prosecutors said.
She escaped the car and ran to the police department while Prince drove away and began yelling that he would burn her home down, officials said.
As of Oct. 2, Prince is on the run and anyone with information is asked to call 724-887-8220, according to a Facebook post by the police department.
He faces charges of kidnapping, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment.
Scottdale is about a 45-mile drive south from Pittsburgh.
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