'Call 911': Rescued woman was abducted by man posing as Uber driver, authorities say

Abigail Celaya and Krystal Nurse, USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
3

An Arizona woman is safe after passing a handwritten note to a gas station customer during an alleged kidnapping.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office says the woman was abducted from a car dealership in the Phoenix area on Monday morning by a man wearing a wig and pretending to be an Uber driver. The woman, who the office declined to name, gave a Chevron customer a note on Tuesday around 5 p.m. local time pleading for help.

She told the customer she had been kidnapped.

"Help, (redacted) call 911. Blue Honda van. (redacted) Going to Kingman and Las Vegas," the woman wrote. Authorities redacted the woman's name and a phone number.

Authorities charged 41-year-old Jacob Wilhoit with harassment, threatening and intimidating, aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping and other assault charges after locating the woman and Wilhoit on Interstate 40, 167 miles southeast of Las Vegas.

Authorities said multiple firearms were found in Wilhoit’s car in plain view.

Man impersonates Uber driver at car dealership, authorities say

Detectives said in a Facebook post Wilhoit allegedly abducted the woman from a car dealership in the Phoenix area on Monday morning at about 7 a.m. He wore a wig and pretended to be an Uber driver, the sheriff's office said.

Wilhoit allegedly restrained her and drove to Las Vegas where they spent the night at Lake Mead Park.

The woman had been reported missing by her mother and entered as missing/endangered earlier that afternoon, according to 911 dispatchers. The entry mentioned Wilhoit as a person of interest.

The woman passed the note to a customer the next day at about 5 p.m. The sheriff's office said the customer called police and said the van had left westbound on I-40 and gave descriptions of what the woman and the man she was traveling with were wearing.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety assisted the sheriff's office in locating the van.

Last month, a 13-year-old Texas girl used a similar method to get help in California by holding up a "Help Me!" sign inside of a parked car, authorities said.

In this undated photo released by the U.S Department of Justice is a "Help Me!" sign used by a 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas. The girl was rescued in Southern California on July 9, 2023, when passersby saw her hold up the sign in a parked car, police said. The rescue occurred in Long Beach when officers responded to a trouble call and found the "visibly emotional and distressed girl," police said in a press release Thursday, July 20.

Safety tips from Uber

Uber said riders are urged to double-check car makes and models, license plates, driver names and photos before entering a car.

The company launched a push notification and in-app feature in April 2019 that reminds riders about performing safety checks. Drivers receive similar notifications in verifying their riders.

Additionally, Uber said riders can opt-in to require drivers to enter a PIN before starting a ride.

The rideshare company encouraged riders and drivers to ask one another for details about occupants before proceeding.

"If the information doesn’t match up, do not get into the car," the company said in a July 2019 press release. Go to a safe place and wait for the right car to arrive, or cancel the ride and report it to us."

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Abducted woman used note to get help in Arizona, sheriff's office says