Arizona woman who was ‘kidnapped by man posing as Uber driver wearing a wig’ is rescued after slipping chilling note to customer at gas station saying ‘help, call 911’
- The woman is said to have been snatched at a Phoenix car dealership Monday
- She was driven more than 150 miles toward Vegas by 41-year-old Jacob Wilhoit
- Currently in custody, Wilhoit had already been a person of interest in the case
A woman who was allegedly abducted by a man posing as an Uber driver is safe – after she slipped a stranger a note asking for help while stopped at a gas station.
The woman, who was not named, is said to have been snatched at a Phoenix car dealership early Monday, before being driven more than 150 miles overnight by 41-year-old Jacob Wilhoit.
Currently in custody, Wilhoit had already been a person of interest in the case, and is believed to have a history with the victim. In an apparent bid to disguise himself he wore a wig when he picked up the victim, police said this week.
However, his alleged plot was foiled Tuesday around 5pm, cops said, when the woman bravely passed a fellow customer a post-it pleading for aid at a Chevron in Seligman – some 170 miles where she was picked up.
Since circulated by Yavapai County cops, the subtle cry for help included a description of the van she was being kept in, a phone number, and the predicted path of the vehicle. Chillingly, a photo of the yellow note showed the words, ‘Help… Call 911… Blue Honda Van.’
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A woman who was allegedly abducted by a man posing as an Uber driver is now safe – after she slipped a stranger a note asking for help while stopped at a gas station. The cry for help (seen here) included a description of the van, a phone number, and the predicted path of the vehicle
The woman, who was not named, is said to have been snatched at a Phoenix car dealership early Monday by 41-year-old Jacob Wilhoit, who cops said knew the victim and wore a wig to disguise himself. Now in custody, he had already been a person of interest, cops said this week
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Police said customer proceeded to call cops – leading to Wilhoit’s arrest a few miles down the road.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office released a statement recounting the rescue, which occurred hours after the woman’s family reported her missing.
During that altercation, relatives provided cops with Wilhoit’s name, as a perceived person of interest. He is said to have been wearing a wig before the alleged abduction, and kept the woman zip-tied for much of the trip.
Officers’ update, aired Wednesday, read as follows: ‘On August 22nd at 5 p.m. a woman at a Chevron in Seligman signaled another customer and passed a note that gave her name and asked the customer to call 911 saying she had been kidnapped.
‘The note included a description of the van the woman was in, a phone number, and said that they were going to Kingman and Las Vegas.’
Cops in the northwest part of the state went to reveal how the customer – who was not named – proceeded to call police, and that YCSO Deputies ‘responded immediately.’
‘The customer relayed that the van had just left westbound on I-40, and provided descriptions of the clothing for both the woman and the man with whom she was traveling,’ the department said Wednesday.
‘YCSO alerted the Department of Public Safety to assist in locating the van, which they were able to do at Mile Post 116 on I-40.
‘The adult female victim and a 41-year-old male Jacob Wilhoit were detained without incident,’ the statement revealed.
Police said customer proceeded to call cops – leading to Wilhoit’s arrest a few miles down the road. The suspect is seen here shortly after being pulled over Tuesday evening, at which point the woman was located and detained
His alleged plot was foiled around 5pm Tuesday, cops said, when the woman bravely passed a fellow customer a post-it pleading for aid at a Chevron in Seligman – some 170 miles where she was picked up
Cops went on to describe how sometime during this series of events, YCSO 911 Dispatchers were able to discern the victim had been reported missing by her mother earlier that afternoon, and entered as a ‘missing/endangered’ person.
Moreover, cops said that entry mentioned Wilhoit by name – as a person of interest.
Within a day of investigating, detectives said they were able to find that the woman was abducted from ‘a car dealership in the Phoenix area’, and that Wilhoit had been ‘wearing a wig and pretending to be an Uber driver.’
Wilhoit, they said, restrained the victim with the intent of driving to Vegas, and spent Monday night somewhere in Lake Mead park, which has several campsites.
Moreover, officers said that multiple firearms were found in Wilhoit’s Honda before deputies even got a chance to search the vehicle, as they were in plain view. The type of firearms recovered, as of Friday, were not specified.
Ultimately, Wilhoit was booked on an array of charges – including harassment, threatening, aggravated assault, unlawful Imprisonment, and kidnapping.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office released a statement recounting the rescue, which occurred hours after the woman’s family reported her missing
As for the woman, who is now safe, cops said her day-and-a-half of captivity has left traumatized – but praised her for seizing the opportunity to seek help when it came.
“He ended up taking her into his minivan, putting zip ties on her, and abducting her,” YCSO spokesperson Kristin Greene told Fox 10 Phoenix
“The victim is still shaken up, but I think she did an amazing job.
‘[She] ended up doing everything right.’
The department’s statement, meanwhile, not only praised the woman, but the Good Samaritan whose actions likely saw her rescued.
The office wrote: ‘The victim’s extraordinary action in passing the note, the customer’s willingness to assist, and the quick actions of YCSO and DPS saved the victim from her kidnapper and allowed her to return home with her family.’
As of Friday, Wilhoit was being held in Unit 3 of Yavapai County’s local lockup. A bail amount was not specified.
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