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Jill Atwood reportingAn 18-year-old woman tells police a man entered her home and forced her at knifepoint to give him a ride.
The whole thing started with a gas theft in Sandy, and ended with the kidnapping victim dropped off in Salt Lake City.
Frustrated by a rash of gas thefts, an employee inside a gas station at 8600 S. Highland Drive in Sandy decided she had had enough Saturday night.
It seems the term self-serve was taking on a whole new meaning, so when a blue Pontiac pulled up to fill up, someone was watching closely.
"The whole chain of events started after two men apparently stole some gas. The clerk decided to go after them, hoping they'd pay up."
Michelle Burnett/Sandy Police Dept.: "That didn't happen. She actually followed them into a neighborhood. There was a lot of reckless driving. The suspects actually hit a parked car."
Somewhere along the line, the suspects realized they were being followed. In an attempt to get away, they also backed into a house. That's when one of the men jumped out and ran on foot through the neighborhood, until he found a home left open.
"He approached this 18-year-old girl inside her home, with a knife, and with threats and a knife forced her to drive him out of that neighborhood."
She drove the suspect to 3300 South and 1400 East. He jumped out and she hasn't seen him since.
"Then it was about an hour later that we got a call from Salt Lake County Sheriff's office. You had a kidnapping in your city, and we're out with your victim right now."
The victim's shaken, but safe.
Descriptions of the suspects are pretty vague, except that the kidnapping suspect has tattoos. Police say a tattoo on his right shoulder shows a man with a sombrero. And, an eagle is tattooed on the suspect's right wrist.
If you have any information on this case, please call the Sandy police department.
