As Her Captor Slowed Car, She Made a Desperate Move: Cops

Vancouver woman saved with help from residents in Camas
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 7, 2022 11:36 AM CDT

A man is facing kidnapping and robbery charges after a woman jumped out of the moving vehicle he was driving and sought help from homeowners near Vancouver, Washington, officials say. The woman knocked on the door of a Camas home around 4:30am Saturday, telling homeowner Jamie Woods that she had been kidnapped. Initially wary of her story and fearful for his wife and daughter, who were inside, Woods says he soon realized the woman was terrified. "A white SUV KIA stopped at the stop sign for a couple of seconds and then took off," he tells KPTV. "She grappled onto me for comfort saying, 'Oh my god there he is, he's going to kill me!'"

Clark County Sheriff's deputies responded. The woman told deputies she had been checking the mail outside her Vancouver home around 7pm Friday when a man approached, asking for a ride to a gas station, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by the Columbian. She said she drove the man to a gas station, where he held a knife to her leg and told her to get in the passenger's seat. She said he drove around for hours and twice she was able to flee the vehicle, but each time she returned in the hope of nabbing her phone and purse. As they drove down a lonely road, she asked if the man was going to kill her and he did not respond, the woman said. That's when she decided to flee for good.

As the man slowed on a dirt road, the woman exited the vehicle and ran to a nearby home, according to the affidavit. Deputies located the woman's vehicle around 5:15am. After an 11-minute pursuit, the suspect was stopped and arrested. Officials have identified the suspect as 31-year-old Jeremy Alexksa, now charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, attempt to elude, and reckless driving. He's being held in Clark County Jail with bail set at $750,000. (More kidnapping stories.)

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