COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Three people have been taken into custody after an alleged abduction Sunday afternoon in South Franklinton of a woman and two children that concluded just outside Cincinnati.
According to a police dispatcher, a 9-1-1 call was made at 11:26 a.m. from the 500 block of Van Buren Drive in South Franklinton at a YMCA homeless shelter. When officers arrived, they were told by the caller that two men and a woman held a 25-year-old pregnant woman at gunpoint before allegedly abducting her and two children, a five-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl.
The suspects’ vehicle was identified as a black Dodge Ram with Mississippi license plates, according to a police dispatcher. Ohio State Highway Patrol said the suspects were armed with a rifle and a handgun.
At 12:49 p.m., state patrol troopers in Mason, just outside of Cincinnati, saw the vehicle going south on Interstate 71 near Exit 22. Before troopers made a traffic stop of the vehicle, authorities stopped all southbound traffic nearby.
A police dispatcher told NBC4 that the troopers stopped the Dodge and were advised by the driver that the suspects had an AK-47 assault rifle and a Glock pistol. At 1:04 p.m., the suspects were taken into custody without incident and troopers were able to rescue the woman and the two children shortly after.
The woman and her children were taken to an OSHP patrol post.
Columbus police will lead the investigation into the incident.
OSHP said Columbus police called for an AMBER alert to be issued, but as the details of the alert were being finalized, the pickup truck has been located.