Woman Kidnapped, Held At Gunpoint By Man She Met Online: Watch

TAMPA, FL — Deputies rescued a woman who was kidnapped, held at gunpoint and robbed the night of Jan. 18 at a Tampa-area Motel 6, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post. (Watch deputy-worn bodycam footage and listen to the 911 call from the incident below.)

Deputies who responded to the motel in the 9900 block of E. Adamo Drive around 11:20 p.m. met with the victim and learned she left her phone in the suspect’s car.

In the bodycam footage, she can be heard telling deputies that she met the suspect online.

They tracked her phone and found the suspect, who fled. Deputies and state troopers followed his vehicle until he crashed into another vehicle that was unrelated to the crime, the sheriff’s office said.

• armed kidnapping commit felony
• possession of firearm during commission of felony, two counts
• robbery with a firearm
• aggravated fleeing to elude
• tampering with physical evidence
• felon in possession of a firearm
• armed trafficking in fentanyl
• leaving the scene of a crash with property damage
• fleeing to elude highspeed
• resisting officer without violence

"This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim, one no one should ever have to endure. In her moment of fear, she found the strength to call for help, and our deputies wasted no time tracking down the suspect and removing this reckless criminal from our streets," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "We are grateful she is safe, and we will continue working tirelessly to protect our community from those who seek to do harm."

Watch deputy-worn bodycam footage from the incident below: