A woman escaped a kidnapper’s cell in Oregon. Now police are searching for other victims in Utah

Last month authorities say an Oregon man pretending to be a police officer kidnapped a woman in Seattle, drove her about 450 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, and imprisoned her in a makeshift cell in his garage, built with cinder blocks and a barred metal door.

The woman escaped and the man accused of taking her, identified as 29-year-old Negasi Zuberi, was later arrested in Nevada, according to a criminal complaint. Now the FBI is searching for more victims in Utah.

Zuberi — who police say also goes by Justin, or Joshua, Hyche; Sakima Zuberi; and Justin Kouassi — has spent time in 10 states over the last 10 years, according to the FBI. That includes Washington County, Utah, which the bureau believes he “frequented” since 2016. They could not specify exactly where in the county he spent time, but do not believe he had a residence there.

On Wednesday, representatives from the FBI said they have reason to believe there are more victims. Because Zuberi was soliciting the woman for prostitution in Seattle, and could have targeted sex workers in other states, additional victims may be afraid to come forward, they say.

“It didn’t just start overnight. And so we believe that there are victims across the country, and we have evidence that says that as well,” said Joy Jiras with the FBI’s Portland office.

The scope of the crimes Zuberi is accused of could extend to California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada, the FBI said in a news release.

“There are people who are afraid to come speak, and we’re trying to let them know that this is a safe place for them to tell their story so that we can hopefully hold him accountable,” Jiras said.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court’s Oregon District, Zuberi approached a woman in Seattle at about midnight on July 15, where he solicited her for prostitution. That’s when the FBI says he claimed to be an undercover police officer, showing her a badge, pointing a Taser at her and placing her in handcuffs and leg irons.

The complaint alleges Zuberi put her in the backseat of his car and drove toward the Oregon state line, telling the victim he was bringing her to a substation.

The woman “observed the map application on Zuberi’s cell phone state that Zuberi was 2 hours and 4 minutes away from his destination,” court documents read. It was then the woman knew “that Zuberi was not a police officer and that she was being kidnapped.”

According to prosecutors who filed the complaint, Zuberi stopped the car to sexually assault the victim and made her wear a backwards sweatshirt in an apparent attempt to hide her identity.

They arrived at his house in Klamath Falls, Oregon, at about 7 a.m., according to the complaint, where Zuberi forced the woman into a cell in his garage, built with cinder blocks and a metal door that could only be opened from the outside. Images of the cell taken by police are grim, with nothing but a single white chair, a bottle of water and a lightbulb inside.

The woman “briefly slept and awoke to the realization that she would likely die if she did not attempt to escape,” the complaint reads. She “repeatedly banged on the door and was able to break the door open and escape the room.”

As she fled, she grabbed Zuberi’s handgun from his car, then flagged down a motorist, who called police, according to the FBI.

When Klamath Falls Police Department carried out a search warrant at his property, they observed the cell and interviewed Zuberi’s wife. In the complaint, officers describe a handwritten note titled “operation takeover.”

“Leave phone at home; make sure they don’t have a bunch of ppl in their life. You don’t want any type of investigation,” the note reads, per the complaint.

According to the complaint, officers also found what appears to be plans for some type of underground prison cell, detailed in another handwritten note. “Dig a hole straight down 100 ft.” the note reads.

Zuberi was located by Nevada State Patrol on July 16, in a Walmart parking lot in Reno, prosecutors say.

“Law enforcement observed Zuberi holding one of his children in the front seat of his vehicle,” the complaint reads. “Zuberi’s wife was outside the vehicle speaking to him. When Zuberi was contacted by law enforcement, he refused to exit the vehicle and cut himself with a sharp object causing him to bleed profusely. He also attempted to destroy his phone.”

He was arrested, and police say the child was not harmed.

In a press release, assistant special agent with the Portland FBI office Stephanie Shark lauded the woman’s bravery.

“Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare,” she said. “We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities. Through quick law enforcement action, we were able to get Zuberi in custody the next day. While she may have helped protect future victims, sadly we have now linked Zuberi to additional violent sexual assaults in at least four states, and there could be more.”

The FBI says Zuberi used multiple methods to gain control of his victims, including impersonating a police officer and drugging their drinks.

The FBI is asking anyone with information on Zuberi to visit fbi.gov/ZuberiVictims or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).