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BOUNTIFUL — Police are looking for witnesses who may have seen two teenage girls who were kidnapped in Bountiful, then escaped in Santaquin 19 hours later.
The two girls, ages 16 and 17, were having a sleepover when they snuck out to take a walk about 2 a.m. Tuesday, Bountiful Police Lt. Dave Edwards said. The girls were approached by two men who offered them a ride and then forced them into the vehicle when they said no.
The girls were taken and restrained in a red sport utility vehicle and "cramped into the cargo compartment" by the two men and a blond woman who was driving, Edwards said. They were also told to keep their heads down.
"We have nothing to indicate that these girls did anything but go for a walk," Edwards said. "These were strangers who saw them walking down the street, offered them a ride, and when the girls refused, they bailed out and took them."
When the vehicle stopped in Santaquin after 9 p.m., one of the girls was able to get free of her restraints and freed the other girl, Edwards said. Together they fled and flagged down a driver on Main Street near 200 West, who let them use a cellphone to call 911.
We hate to speculate what would have happened to these girls had they not escaped.
–Lt. Dave Edwards, Bountiful Police
The girls only suffered minor injuries that did not require medical attention. They reported they had tried to flag down several cars unsuccessfully before the driver stopped to help them.
The mother of one of the girls didn't realize they were gone when she left for work early Tuesday, Edwards said. She reported them missing about 6 p.m. that night when she arrived home.
Police said the girls described their captors as a slender white man between 20 and 25 years old with light brown hair and a tattoo on his left arm; a tall white man between 30 and 35 years old with dark brown hair and a medium build; and a heavyset woman between 20 and 35 years old, of medium height with long blond hair.
Police in both Bountiful and Santaquin cities admit they've never seen anything like this before. But detectives said they've corroborated the teens' initial account of when and where they were taken.
"We have a witness who says she heard girls screaming in the same location at the same time the girls reported the abduction was occurring," Edwards said. "We hate to speculate what would have happened to these girls had they not escaped."
Anyone who may have witnessed the girls' abduction or escape, or who has information about the kidnapping, is asked to call Bountiful police at 801-298-6000.
