Abducted Philadelphia Woman Made Effort to be Found

On Nov. 2, 2014 a woman was abducted from Philadelphia. During her abduction, she used planned tactics that helped shorten the process of finding her.

The 22 year-old African-American woman, Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, used strategic measures to leave a trail of evidence to make sure the authorities were able to find her. When Freeland-Gaither’s abductor, Delvin Barnes, forced her to enter his Ford Taurus she was not compliant; she smashed the rear window and tossed her cell phone out of the window as Barnes hastily drove away. Her glasses were also found at the location of her abduction.

A witness, Dwayne Fletcher, saw the abduction, the smashing of rear window and the phone being thrown from the car as Freeland-Gaither was taken hostage. Fletcher also called the police twice to provide useful information about the abduction.

The next premeditated action that Freeland-Gaither made was giving Barnes her debit card pin number, and Barnes went to an ATM machine in Aberdeen, Maryland to withdraw $20. Since Barnes used her debit card, the authorities were able to see who her abductor was with the camera surveillance at the ATM.

Freeland-Gaither was taken almost 120 miles away from home for five days. It seemed that Barnes could not keep Freeland-Gaither any longer because the nearby grocery store where Barnes purchased items had a description of his image. Moreover, the car that Barnes was driving had a registered sticker for Virginia, and when Barnes reached Virginia the police noticed it because he had committed another attack within that state.

Barnes was able to be tracked when the authorities found the dealership where his car was purchased. Unknown to Barnes, his car had a tracking device; the dealership had placed GPS systems in cars of buyers who had financial concerns. Freeland-Gaither was found in Jessup, Maryland, and after she was medically examined at a hospital she was reunited with her family.

The reasoning behind Barnes taking Freeland-Gaither is unknown. When Barnes took Freeland-Gaither, he was traveling to Virginia for a case. Barnes had committed that particular attack on Oct. 1, 2014. The victim of this attack was a 16 year-old girl who was held for a day and a half in Richmond, Va.

ABC News has been notified by the law enforcement that Barnes was questioned by the FBI and he was placed in Baltimore County Jail.

Sources: ABC News