Surveillance footage captured the moment a Florida woman escaped from her kidnapper after being held captive for more than two months, FOX13 reported Monday.
According to authorities, the woman was allegedly kidnapped by Walter Medina, 48, who promised the victim food and drugs after finding her begging on the street. fox 13. FOX13 reports that Medina’s girlfriend appointment quickly turned violent as he attacked her with a wooden bat and a screwdriver and threatened her not to run away. (Related: Local rap artist allegedly kept woman captive for years and sexually abused her in his garage: police)
‘I Need Help’ Video Shows City of Hillsborough Allowing Kidnap Victim to Flee After Months of Abuse https://t.co/4WVbvZcSDA
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) April 4, 2024
Video shows the woman making a brave dash for freedom in the town of Seffner, where she appears to have run from Medina’s car toward a nearby Mobil gas station.
Ashraf Zakhar, who was working at Mobile when the woman came in screaming for help, told her to call 911, the newspaper said.
“She was screaming and crying and saying, ‘I need help. I need help.’ She just ran to the bathroom and locked herself in,” Zakhar said.
Video shows a gold van believed to be driven by Medina circling the gas station after the victim fled.
A female deputy appears to be watching the van outside the door of the Mobile while the deputy and paramedics try to convince the victim to come out of the bathroom.
Officers eventually pursued the van and engaged in a high-speed chase that resulted in a crash and Medina’s arrest, FOX13 reported.
According to FOX13, Medina served four years in prison for a false imprisonment conviction in 2010 and was previously convicted of the same crime in the 1990s.
“He’s no stranger to us,” Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Amanda Granit told FOX13. “The details of this horrific incident that we’re talking about this week also appear to be things he’s done in the past.”
Authorities are holding Medina in the Orange County Jail on charges of attempted second-degree murder, armed kidnapping and armed false imprisonment, FOX13 reports.
The victim is currently recovering, according to the sheriff’s office.
