Police are asking for anyone in the downtown area who witnessed an alleged kidnapping to come forward.
According to Lethbridge Police Service officials, just after midnight on Friday, police received a report of a woman who was forced into a vehicle and kidnapped at the Park and Ride on 5th Avenue South. According to reports, the incident happened around 11 p.m. on Thursday, when she approached a red car she is said to have thought belonged to a friend. Police say that as she leaned down to look inside, she saw an unknown man, who reportedly grabbed her arm and pulled her into the vehicle through the open passenger window.
The vehicle is reported to have driven away with the woman screaming and travelled a route that passed Tudor Manor Apartments along the 500 block of 7th Street South, then the main branch of the Public Library along the 800 block of 5th Avenue South, and the Castle Apartments along the 200 block of 2nd Avenue South.
According to a statement from LPS, “The woman was able to grab the keys, causing the vehicle to hit the curb. She subsequently threw them out the window. A male bystander, who heard her screaming, approached the vehicle and let her out before the driver fled the area. The victim reported that the subject had made references about having sex and had touched her. She did not sustain any injuries.”
Police are reported to have been able to locate the vehicle and driver matching the description provided by not only the victim, but also a bystander, and initiated a traffic stop. The man was arrested without incident, and during a search of the vehicle, police found some of the victim’s property inside.
Lethbridge Police charged the 36-year-old man with sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and assault.
Police are asking anyone who was in the area of this incident and saw anything to come forward and report it to police, as the investigation is ongoing. The man has been remanded into custody.
