Police are investigating an abduction case after they say a woman was forced into a car and driven from a Montgomery County home into Philadelphia.
The woman and her wife were leaving a visit with one of the couple's parents on the 100 block of Colonial Place, in King of Prussia, around 11 p.m. Thursday when an SUV pulled up behind their car and blocked their path, Upper Merion Township Police Chief Thomas Nolan said.
As three men in hoodies got out of the SUV, the woman's wife was able to jump into her car and lock the doors. However, one of the men grabbed the victim and struggled with her, taking around $300 in cash from her in the process, Nolan said.
At the same time, a female accomplice pulled up in another SUV and tried to get inside the locked car. She was unsuccessful, but the men were able to force the victim into one of the SUVs before they all sped off.
A concerned neighbor called police, and around the same time they got another call from the woman's frantic wife, UMTP Lt. Elverson said. The wife gave chase to the suspects, all the while telling police where the SUVs were headed.
A UMTP vehicle caught up to them on Route 76 as the cars drove into Philadelphia, Elverson said. Philadelphia Police and the Pennsylvania State Police soon joined the search.
During the drive, the suspects tossed their victim's cellphone out the window, Nolan said.
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The SUVs got off Route 76 and turned onto Ridge Avenue, where police got the victim's wife to pull over, though they could not find the suspect vehicles, the chief said.
Police took the wife back to the station, which is when she received a call from an unknown number. On the other end of the line were her wife and the suspects, who, realizing that police were not involved, let the woman go unharmed near 59th Street and Lancaster Avenue, Nolan said.
Police believe the victim and her wife had some sort of relationship with the kidnappers, though they wouldn't specify the nature of that relationship.
"It was not a random attack. The victims did know their attackers and had prior dealings with them," Nolan said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Upper Merion Township Police at 610-265-3232.
