Woman Narrowly Escapes After Being Tied Up, Kidnapped by Craigslist Date
Michigan state troopers pulled over a 41-year-old man on suspicion of drunk driving early Wednesday morning after they saw him swerving across the road. It didn’t take them long to find the real reason he’d been driving erratically, though: a 22-year-old woman he’d just met through Craigslist was tied up in his backseat, kicking at him while he drove.
Troopers say the two connected on Craigslist after the man posted an ad seeking a submissive. They chatted online and agreed to meet in person, and that’s when everything went completely sideways for the victim.
“The mistake she made was she met him in a remote, secluded area near his home. She got into his vehicle and once they were moving, she realized this guy looked nothing like the picture that he had sent her. Also, the conversation wasn’t anything like it was online,” Michigan State Police Lieutenant David Kaiser told CBS Detroit.
When she tried to leave, the man allegedly choked her, then bound her arms with zip ties and duct-taped her mouth shut. He put a bag over her head and threw into his backseat, where she fought and yelled for help until cops finally spotted the car.
“What we learned after this, is the lady is actually very fortunate she wasn’t further assaulted or killed,” Lt. Kaiser said, “The man used a fictitious photo, he used a fictitious name and he had a throw-away email account which would make it very difficult for an investigator, had something happened to her, to locate this person.”
Police haven’t named the driver, but they confirmed he’s been arrested for kidnapping and assault by strangulation.