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BOUNTIFUL — A woman and her teenage son were taken into protective custody Monday morning after allegedly being abducted.
Sunday, at 11:55 p.m., Bountiful Police Department received a report of a missing mother and son. After determining there were no signs of a crime at the home of Synthia Rowland and her son, police unsuccessfully attempted to locate them.
Monday, at 9:54 a.m., Rowland sent a text message to her mother saying her estranged husband, Dwayne Taylor Rowland, had beaten and abducted her.
"We couldn't get a hold of her," said Synthia Rowland's brother-in-law, Douglas Sulser. "Her son was supposed to stay with us last night."
Sulser said he remembered Rowland's 14-year-old son leaving abruptly with his father, Dwayne. Sulser said Rowland and Synthia had been separated for the last six months. Synthia was living alone in a Bountiful home with their son.
"When officers responded, checked the scene, checked the home, they found no signs of foul play," Sulser said. "No reason to believe there was a problem, and then they started to look throughout the county to try and find these two people."
The son – who was unharmed – was taken along with his mother to the Green River and Moab area, she claimed.
San Juan County Sheriff’s Office were alerted that the two were likely in the area and a deputy spotted the described vehicle in the Blanding area.
At 11:40 a.m., a deputy and a Blanding police officer stopped a grey Chevy Blazer. Dwayne Roland was driving the vehicle containing Synthia Rowland and her son.
Dwayne Rowland was taken into custody without incident by gunpoint. He was booked into the San Juan County Jail where he is awaiting extradition back to the Bountiful area.
Synthia Rowland and her son were taken into protective custody.
