SC woman escapes kidnapper posing as cop

AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WIS/WRDW) - Deputies in South Carolina arrested a suspect in connection with a kidnapping and the impersonation of a law enforcement officer.

WRDW reports Aiken County investigators arrested 39-year-old Jonathan Willard on Saturday and charged him with kidnapping and impersonation of a law enforcement officer.

Willard is currently incarcerated at the Aiken County Detention Center.

An Aiken County Sheriff’s Office incident report showed deputies were called early Friday to the area of Williston Road and Boggy Gut Road for a reported kidnapping.

An arriving deputy found the woman on the ground in distress with a pair of handcuffs next to her.

Several witnesses were there, as well.

One driver said he was headed down Williston Road toward New Ellenton when he saw the woman run out of the woods away from a green car.

He said her hands were bound with handcuffs behind her.

The witness said the driver of a green car tried to run the woman over before driving away.

Another witness described the vehicle to deputies, while a third witness helped the woman get out of the handcuffs, which deputies later determined were toy metal handcuffs.

The woman told deputies she went for a walk around 5 a.m. after leaving a relative’s home. She said she was unfamiliar with the neighborhood.

She reported seeing the suspect’s vehicle earlier near Chukker Creek Apartments.

The woman said the man came up behind her, told her he was with the police, handcuffed her and put her in the rear of his car, which had no back seat.

The man took her phone and Social Security card, along with her other belongings, and said he was taking her to the police station, deputies reported.

Instead, she said, he pulled into an unmarked driveway with a gate, backed up, then got out and went to the trunk, where she heard him going through what sounded like tools.

She told deputies the back doors wouldn’t open, but she crawled to the front seat and escaped through the open driver’s door.

She then ran to Williston Road to flag down help.

Investigators want to urge the public to look at the photo of Willard and if anyone has had any similar incidents or interactions with Willard to contact the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office at 803-642-1761

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