Man Found in Car Trunk; Claims He Was There Two Days

Man Found in Car Trunk; Claims He Was There Two Days


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Gene Kennedy and Whit Johnson ReportingA man is found locked in the trunk of his car.

Lea Woodcox, Found man in trunk: "I could tell he was very scared. His pupils were small. He was pale and he was shaking."

He says he was there for two days. But police are not sure the entire story is true.

Damon Paxton, 44, has told investigators that he was car-jacked at gunpoint in Salt Lake City on Friday then forced into the trunk of the car.

Man Found in Car Trunk; Claims He Was There Two Days

The victim says his carjacker took him for a ride before dumping the car. He claims that the person who did this drove around, running errands and picking up friends, with the victim in the trunk the entire time.

At some point, the vehicle was left behind a TRAX station in Murray.

On Sunday, Lea Woodcox was walking home near 43rd South and 100 West and noticed the car. She thought it was just abandoned, but heard Paxton crying for help.

Lea Woodcox, Found Man in Trunk: "So I asked, ‘Is anybody in there?' And I heard a man say, ‘Yes, thank God somebody is here.'"

She got him out of the trunk.

Lea Woodcox, Found man in trunk: "I'm just glad that I was here. I saw people walking up and down the street and I was surprised that no one else had stopped and paid any attention."

Lea Woodcox says Paxton appeared really shaken up.

Lea Woodcox, Found man in trunk: "I hugged him when I pulled him out of the car. I just, I could totally relate to how frightened he must have been."

But had he really been in there for two days? Police are re-interviewing him, double-checking his story.

We'll be talking with police later this morning and let you know what we find out.

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