Buried kidnap victim had dialed 911

The North Port woman's body was later found. A suspect is in custody.

By Times staff and wire reports
Published January 21, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Denise Amber Lee, 21, was the mother of two children. Michael Lee King, 36, was apprehended by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper a little after 9 p.m. on Thursday.

A missing North Port woman found in a shallow grave Saturday made a desperate call to 911 that could help police convict her killer.

Denise Amber Lee, 21, managed to dial emergency services from the backseat of Michael Lee King's green Chevy Camaro. The Sarasota 911 Center received the call at 6:14 p.m. Thursday, shortly after Lee went missing and tracked the phone to King.

The operator heard her say her name and address, and, according to media reports, beg for her life.

At an emotional press conference Sunday, her husband wept. "Denise was my soul mate and my best friend, and I will never, ever forget about her," Nathaniel Lee said. "My sons will always remember who she was. I will miss her so much."

"She was a strong lady who made sure her children were safe even though she was facing adversity," Lee's father, Richard Goff, said of the mother of two young boys. "Because of her ability to think on her feet she was able to provide information to investigators that will help convict the perpetrator who did this to her."

King, 36, was apprehended by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper a little after 9 p.m. on Thursday. He was booked into the South County Jail on one charge of kidnapping the next morning, and at least initially, refused to provide information about Lee's whereabouts.

A relative of King told police that he had seen a bound woman in the green Camaro when the suspect stopped by to borrow a gas can, shovel and flashlight Thursday evening. A call from a second relative was placed to police a little over an hour later.

Authorities have not been able to find a connection between Lee and King.

Lee and her husband last talked on the phone around 11 a.m. on Thursday. Around 2:30 p.m., a neighbor reported seeing a green Camaro parked in Lee's driveway with a white male inside.

When Nathaniel Lee returned home around 3:20 p.m., he found the door locked and his two sons, one six months old and the other two years old, alone inside.

Police responded to a missing person's report at the Latour Avenue home nine minutes later.

Then a little after 6 p.m., Lee placed a remarkable call. While King was borrowing materials from his cousin, she somehow managed to dial the number from his cell phone left in the car. The Charlotte Sun-Herald reported that Lee told the 911 dispatcher she couldn't see, suggesting a blindfold.

Lee's pleas for help apparently were interrupted by King's return. As King grabbed the phone from her, the dispatcher could hear Lee beg the suspect not to kill her because she was the mother of two children, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.

More than 340 law enforcement officers joined the search for Lee, the daughter of a Charlotte County Sheriff's deputy.

They combed the woods in the area where King was apprehended, looking for freshly dug dirt. Beef O'Brady's and McDonald's contributed food for the searchers. Volunteers were told to pray for Lee and her family.

"The vast majority of them were here on their time off," Charlotte Maj. Mark Caro said of the searchers. "We're all someone's child or someone's parent."

Then, on Saturday afternoon came a grisly discovery: a woman's body was found buried near I-75 and Toledo Blade Road. In a Sunday morning press conference, authorities confirmed that the remains were those of Lee.

"Rick, her dad, wanted her home," said North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis during the press conference. "This isn't the way we, as a team, wanted to bring her home." Family members tearfully thanked the community for its support.

Authorities told the public that the investigation is ongoing, and asked that anyone with information about the case call the North Port Police Department.

King is being held without bond.

The suspect's neighbors said he had a history of erratic behavior and that his actions had prompted them to call the police a number of times. .

A next-door neighbor said King keyed her mother's car, slashed its tires and threw eggs at her as part of a feud. His wife reportedly left him some time ago and he had been raising a son.

Information from the Charlotte Sun-Herald, Bay News 9, and Times wires was used this report. Staff Writer Elena Lesley contributed.

[Last modified January 20, 2008, 23:47:37]