OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 12:43 PM – Sunday, May 14, 2023
An abducted woman was found naked and afraid inside a U-Haul truck by police during a traffic stop, the traumatized woman was freed on Friday night in Maryland, according to authorities.
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Early that morning, the victim was reportedly approached by the suspect, Dennis Bell, 62, at a convenience store on Minnesota Avenue Southeast in Washington, D.C., according to Maryland State Police.
“The victim told police that Bell pushed her into the U-Haul truck and threatened her life if she did not comply with his demands,” police said in a press release.
According to the police, Bell allegedly made the victim sit on the floorboard in the front seat while he drove around “all day.”
“The victim reported that while in Bell’s truck, he removed her clothing and used a pocketknife to stab her fingers,” the release said. “The victim informed police that she did not know where she was throughout the day while Bell continued to drive.”
Police reported that shortly before 10 p.m. local time, troopers got numerous calls of a U-Haul truck driving erratically and hitting numerous parked cars in Lanham, an unincorporated community in Maryland.
Authorities claim that despite their attempts to stop the vehicle, the driver refused to stop. After slamming into a ditch, the car finally came to a stop.
Bell was once more asked to vacate the truck by two troopers who arrived from the passenger side, but he continued to ignore them, according to the press release. The victim was sitting on the floorboard of the front seat when the troopers entered the truck through the passenger window. She was unclothed and had fresh wounds on her fingers.
The victim, whose identity has not yet been made public, was immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Bell is accused of nearly two dozen moving violations as well as a number of crimes, such as first-degree assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, fourth-degree sex offense, possession of suspected crack cocaine, and driving under the influence.
The disturbed man is now being detained in the Department of Corrections in Upper Marlboro.
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