Surveillance video caught the moment that a Florida woman who was held captive for more than two months escaped her kidnapper Monday, FOX13 reported.
The woman was allegedly abducted by Walter Medina, 48, who promised the victim food and drugs after finding her begging on the street, deputies said, according to FOX13. Medina’s alleged promises quickly turned violent when he attacked her with a wooden bat and a screwdriver as well as threatened her not to escape, FOX13 reported. (RELATED: Local Rap Artist Allegedly Held Woman Captive For Years, Sexually Abusing Her In Garage: Police)
Video shows Hillsborough kidnapping victim escape captor after months of abuse: ‘I need help’ https://t.co/4WVbvZcSDA
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) April 4, 2024
The video shows the woman’s daring dash to freedom in the town of Seffner when she apparently ran from Medina’s vehicle toward a nearby Mobil gas station.
Ashraf Zakhar was working at the Mobil when the woman came in screaming and crying for help and telling him to call 911, according to the outlet.
“She was screaming and crying and said ‘I need help. I need help.’ She just ran to the bathroom and locked herself in,” Zakhar said.
The video shows a gold-colored van, believed to be driven by Medina, circling the gas station after the victim had fled.
While deputies and first responders try to convince the victim to come out of the bathroom, a female deputy apparently keeps watch for the van outside the Mobil’s door.
Deputies eventually pursued the van, leading to a high-speed chase that resulted in Medina, crashing, and being arrested, FOX13 reported.
Medina served four years in prison for a false imprisonment conviction in 2010 and had also been found guilty of the same crime in the 1990s, according to FOX13.
“He’s no stranger to us,” Amanda Granit, a public information officer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office told FOX13. “The details of this horrific case that we’re talking about this week also appear to be what he’s done in the past.”
Authorities are holding Medina in the Orange County Jail on charges of second-degree attempted murder charges as well as armed kidnapping and armed false imprisonment, FOX13 reported.
The victim is currently recovering, the sheriff’s office said.