Investigators say the suspect posed as a police officer before the woman broke free.
AIKEN COUNTY, SC — A truck driver helped a handcuffed woman escape an alleged kidnapping Friday morning after she ran into a rural Aiken County road and said a man posing as an officer had forced her into his car.
The rescue, captured on dashcam video, led to the arrest of 39-year-old Jonathan Willard of New Ellenton. Authorities charged Willard with kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer after investigators said the woman was taken while walking home the morning after her graduation.
Anthony Moore said he was driving his normal route about 7 a.m. Friday on Williston Road near Boggy Gut Road when he saw the woman run into traffic. Moore said a car followed her as she moved from one side of the road to the other. “She would run on one side of the road. He’d try to run her over, then she’d run to the other side, and he’d try to run her over there,” Moore said. The woman reached Moore’s truck and pleaded for help, telling him the man was trying to kidnap her.
Investigators later identified the driver as Willard. Moore said the man pulled up in a Cadillac and claimed he was a police officer while holding up something from inside the vehicle. The woman disputed that account as she got into Moore’s truck, Moore said. Another driver stopped, called 911 and told a dispatcher the man did not appear to be a legitimate officer because he was driving a white Cadillac. The Cadillac then left the roadside, leaving the woman with Moore and the other motorist. The second driver, identified on the 911 call as Glen, removed the woman’s handcuffs while they waited for help.
The woman told dispatchers she had stayed at her father’s house after graduating Thursday and was walking to her mother’s home Friday morning when the Cadillac DeVille stopped near Banks Mill Road and Club Drive. Moore said the woman told him the man ran toward her, said he was “with the cops,” placed her in handcuffs and threw her into the back seat. She also said he took her phone and diploma. Moore said she was frantic as she described what happened.
The woman told rescuers the man later pulled onto a road and left a door open while he was handling something in the vehicle. She said that gave her a chance to escape and run toward the highway. Moore said a lieutenant later told him investigators found evidence near a fence. “The lieutenant came over and said there’s no doubt in our mind you saved her life because when we looked back at the fence back there, he cut the chain on the fence,” Moore said.
The case centers on the charge that Willard falsely presented himself as law enforcement while taking control of the woman. Authorities have not released every detail of the investigation, including what the man allegedly intended to do, how long the woman was held or whether additional charges could follow. The woman’s name was not released in initial reports. Willard was arrested Saturday, one day after the roadside rescue, and was booked on the kidnapping and impersonation charges.
Moore, who also serves as a pastor, said he believes the timing of his route placed him where he needed to be. He described the moment as “delayed divine timing” and said there is “an appointed place for us to be at an appointed time.” The dashcam video showed the woman running for help on the rural road before Moore stopped. The other driver’s 911 call helped keep the scene active after the Cadillac left.
Willard remained the named suspect as the case moved forward Thursday. The next public step is expected through Aiken County court filings or law enforcement updates as investigators continue reviewing the roadside evidence and dashcam video.
Author note: Last updated June 4, 2026.