Philadelphia woman’s abduction captured on video
A 22-year-old Philadelphia woman’s abduction has been captured on video, and police are asking for the public’s help in finding her.
Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was last seen around 9:40 p.m. Sunday in the 100 block of West Coulter Street.
A witness said the woman was yelling for help as a man forced her into a dark-colored sedan.
Surveillance video released Monday by Philadelphia police shows a man driving down a street, parking his car and walking a short distance out of the camera’s view, back towards the direction from which he came. He’s then seen apparently chasing a woman across the street before grabbing her and forcing her down the block and into the car.
Police say the woman in the video is Freeland-Gaither. A witness told police he saw the woman yelling for help and being forced into the car, possibly a gray Ford Taurus. The witness said the woman’s glasses and cell phone fell onto the road.
As the car drove away, the woman kicked out at least one of the car’s rear windows. CBS Philly showed images of shattered glass on the roadway near the site where the woman was reportedly abducted.
Watch the disturbing footage here:
Police say the car was last seen traveling west on Coulter Street towards Knox Street. Police believe the suspect may have been watching Freeland-Gaither, Stanford said.
Because of the way Freeland-Gaither is shown attempting to fight off the suspect, police believe she did not know her assailant.
Freeland-Gaither is described as a black female, five feet, three inches tall, 125 pounds with brown eyes. Police say she has braided hair and has a tattoo on her lower back, and was last seen wearing a light blue jean jacket, a gray and white sweater, carrying a black backpack.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Philadelphia Police.Tipsters in Philadelphia should call 911, and those outside of the city should call 215-686-TIPS.
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