Jacob Wilhoit Arizona kidnapping victim saved by quick thinking action after female hostage passed a note to a gas station customer 160 miles away from original point of abduction.
A woman allegedly kidnapped at a car dealership in Phoenix by a man pretending to be an Uber driver was rescued after slipping a note at a gas station some 160 miles away from her point of abduction to a customer asking for help, police said.
The note gave the woman’s name and said she’d been kidnapped, asking the customer to call 911. The note included a description of the van she was in with her abductor and said they were headed toward Kingman and Las Vegas, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said.
The customer called 911 , relaying that the van headed westbound on Interstate 40 from Seligman and providing descriptions of the clothing worn by both the woman and her alleged abductor.
Victim and assailant knew each other
Deputies contacted the state Department of Public Safety for assistance, and the van was stopped several miles down the road at post 116 on the highway. They found the woman and the suspect, identified as Jacob Wilhoit, 41 along with several weapons inside the mini-van, FOX10 reported.
Wilhoit was detained by police and charged with threatening, aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping and other crimes, the sheriff’s office said.
A photo of the yellow sticky note obtained by NBC News, showed the words, ‘Help… Call 911… Blue Honda Van…’
The victim had been reported missing by her mother on Tuesday, a day after her abduction and entered as missing/endangered by her family, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. Relatives provided cops with Wilhoit’s name, as a perceived person of interest.
Authorities said the woman and Wilhoit knew each other. However, a motive for the alleged kidnapping was not provided by authorities. Also not clear is in what dynamic the victim and assailant knew each other and how the woman came to be targeted.
Investigators said, Wilhoit who had been wearing a wig — allegedly posed as an Uber driver and abducted the woman from a car dealership in the Phoenix area on Monday at approximately 7 a.m.
The woman was taking into a minivan, zip ties put on her, and abducted. Police also said in their statement that the alleged kidnapper and the woman ‘spent the night at a Lake Mead park.’
The sheriff’s office praised the victim in their news release for her ‘extraordinary action in passing the note’ and the customer who called 911 for their ‘willingness to assist.’
