Local investigation ends in Iowa abduction case

4/27/2005

WALBRIDGE - Lake Township police have closed their investigation regarding the woman from the Council Bluffs, Iowa, area who said she was abducted, sexually assaulted, and then abandoned in the township Friday.

Lake Township police Chief Mark Hummer said despite some inconsistencies in the victim's statements, officials plan to forward all the evidence they gathered to the Fremont County sheriff's office in Iowa for a follow-up investigation.

"We have no further leads," Chief Hummer said.

The woman, 42, told authorities she was abducted in Iowa at gunpoint and then sexually assaulted late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning after she picked up a hitchhiker, whom she described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s.

The suspect then began driving east with the victim in her boss' 2003 Ford pickup truck and exited the Ohio Turnpike near I-280 in Lake Township once the truck ran low on fuel. The suspect fled on foot, leaving the victim inside the truck, police said.

Chief Hummer said the victim left Lake Township for Iowa yesterday with friends in the truck.