Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Authorities would not name the victim. She was to be released from the hospital late Friday.
By SUSAN THURSTON
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 16, 2000
TAMPA -- As caretaker of a wildlife preserve near New Tampa, Kevin Church is used to contending with trespassers and alligators.
He wasn't prepared for what he found Friday: a woman badly beaten and barely breathing.
Church was patrolling the Cypress Creek Preserve about 10:15 a.m. when he came across a woman lying near the edge of a retention pond. She was unconscious, bleeding, but alive.
"She didn't look real good, but she had a pulse and was breathing," he said.
Church called 911 and waited with her for about 25 minutes until sheriff's deputies and paramedics arrived. She uttered a few words, but was too weak to speak coherently, officials said. About all they could make out was three men, black and car.
The woman was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital, where she was in good condition by mid-afternoon. She was expected to be released later Friday, said hospital spokeswoman Joelle Wiley.
Authorities would not release the victim's name until they questioned her further and determined whether she was sexually assaulted. A white woman in her mid to late 30s, she was wearing jeans and a shirt when Church found her, he said.
Circumstances surrounding the case were about as murky as the pond where she was found. It was unclear how she ended up along Interstate 275 just south of Interstate 75. It was also unknown how the black Ford Taurus parked on the shoulder of northbound I-275 was involved.
Sheriff's officials were investigating the incident as an abduction and aggravated battery. Initially, they suspected the woman was put in the trunk of the Taurus, then escaped and climbed over a fence into the county preserve.
"She may have been in the trunk at some time, but I don't think she fought her way out," said Hillsborough County sheriff's Sgt. Rod Reder.
The trunk was closed when deputies arrived and the back seat was not smashed in, he said. The car was not reported stolen.
According to state records, the tag was registered to a different car under the name of a woman who apparently didn't match the victim's description. She could not be reached for comment.
Church, 36, found the victim on his day off from his job as a park and aquatics manager for the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. He lives in a former hunting lodge in the preserve for free in exchange for keeping an eye on the property.
On his way to visit a friend, he decided to take a quick look around because he saw the black car parked along the interstate. He figured it could be someone trying to sneak into the fenced preserve -- or nothing, as is usually the case.
What he found "wasn't pleasant," he said. "It hasn't been a day off."
Church, a certified first responder, called 911 on his cell phone and monitored the woman's pulse until help came. Deputies parked along I-275 and climbed over the fence to reach her, he said. Bloodhounds searched the area for clues.
- Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or thurston@sptimes.com.