A woman’s resourcefulness and quick thinking saved her from a kidnapping in Yavapai County, Arizona. Police reported that the unidentified woman was abducted from a car dealership in Phoenix on August 21. The suspect, Jacob Wilhoit, 41, disguised himself as an Uber driver and restrained the victim once she entered his vehicle. Then, they started heading toward Las Vegas, spending the night at Lake Mead Park.
On August 22, around 5 p.m., the kidnapper’s car pulled into a Chevron gas station in Seligman, Arizona. It was at this crucial moment that the woman managed to signal another customer and discreetly pass them a note. The note contained vital information, including her name, a phone number, a description of the van, and details about their intended destination. She urgently requested the customer to call 911 for help.
The customer promptly contacted the authorities, and deputies from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office swiftly responded to the distress call. Although the van had already left the gas station by the time they arrived, the customer who received the note provided valuable descriptions of both Wilhoit and the woman, as well as the direction in which the van had fled.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office immediately coordinated with the Department of Public Safety. As a result, the van was intercepted and pulled over at a milepost on I-40. Wilhoit was apprehended, and a search of his vehicle uncovered multiple firearms. It was later discovered that the woman had been reported missing by her mother earlier that day.
Wilhoit now faces a multitude of charges, including harassment, threatening and intimidating, aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, and several other assault charges. He was booked into the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center at 1:20 a.m. on August 23, according to online jail records.