Police say a Bellingham kidnapping target managed to escape van en route to Skagit County
Authorities arrested a woman who is accused of kidnapping an individual in Bellingham and taking them to Skagit County.
Police say the suspect visited the kidnapping victim’s place of business Oct. 29 in the Irongate Business Park off East Bakerview Road to pick up some of her belongings with two other people.
While packing her belongings, the suspect started taking items that didn’t belong to her, according to Megan Peters with the Bellingham Police Department.
When the individual protested the other items being stolen, the suspect and her associates allegedly forced them into a van and started to drive south to Skagit County, threatening the victim with a weapon, Peters said.
The victim managed to escape out of the back of the van near the Skagit Speedway and called for help from a nearby RV. A person in the RV called the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
While the van was later recovered from Skagit County, the suspect and her associates were not there.
On their way to the business, the suspect and her associates allegedly stole a vehicle from a different business in Irongate Business Park. The vehicle was recovered later in the day at Tacoma.
Authorities located the suspect in a storage facility just outside of Bellingham city limits Nov. 11 and took her into custody, Peters said. The suspect, who is a convicted felon, was in possession of a firearm.
She was arrested on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, a class A felony; second-degree assault, second-degree robbery and theft of a motor vehicle, all class B felonies; and illegal possession of a firearm, a class C felony.
The investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 11:02 AM.
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