'Nodding off' kidnapper on run after victim escapes: Police
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Inset: Shawn Prince (Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office). The street in Pennsylvania where Prince allegedly kidnapped a woman earlier this week (Google Maps).

Authorities in Pennsylvania are searching for a 29-year-old man who they say abducted a woman at gunpoint and forced her to stay in the woods overnight after threatening to cut a child’s throat.

Shawn Prince, whose victim was able to escape when Prince started “nodding off” and forced her to drive, is currently wanted on charges of kidnapping, simple assault, making terroristic threats, and harassment, authorities announced. According to a news release from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, the investigation into Prince began on Wednesday, when members of the victim’s family phoned the Scottdale Police Department and requested a welfare check on the victim’s Jennings Avenue home, which is about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The family members reported that they had not heard from the victim since Monday, shortly after a “previous domestic incident” to which police responded that involved the victim and Prince. The lack of communication left the family concerned for the safety of the victim.

Upon arriving at the residence, police said they found the door opened and the victim’s phone inside, but no one was home. While still at the scene, the officers were notified that the victim had just placed a 911 call and was currently at the police station.

In an interview with investigators, the victim claimed that Prince “kidnapped her” shortly after the officers who responded to the domestic incident left the home. The victim told police that Prince “threatened to cut her friend’s child’s throat if she did not comply and go with him.”

Prince allegedly drove the victim to a “rural, wooded area she did not recognize and put a gun to her head” after forcing her out of the car and into the woods. The two then stayed in the woods overnight, police said. The following morning, they got back into the car and Prince drove out of the woods.

At some point during the drive, Prince apparently grew drowsy enough that he was unable to drive.

“The victim told officers Prince started nodding off and made the victim drive the vehicle,” the release states. “The victim said she started recognizing her surroundings near Ohiopyle and drove to the Scottdale Police station because she knew where it was located. The victim managed to escape the vehicle and ran to the police department and called 911 as Prince drove away.”

As he was fleeing, Prince allegedly “yelled that he would burn the victim’s house down.”

Police have not disclosed the nature of the relationship between the victim and Prince.

Authorities are still searching for Prince and are urging anyone who knows his whereabouts or has information relevant to the case to contact Scottdale Police at 724-887-8220.

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