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Brief abduction ends in release
By BILL VARIAN © St. Petersburg Times, published November 4, 2000 HOMOSASSA -- Detectives are investigating a bizarre Thursday morning kidnapping in which a woman was forced into her own car in a supermarket parking lot, driven a couple of miles, then let go after she was struck in the face.
Myers, 34, of Homosassa said she received a black eye and a scare but was otherwise unharmed. She said neither she nor her husband have any idea who they might have angered and are wondering if her abduction was the result of mistaken identity. Myers said she and her husband both run their own businesses. She cleans homes, and her husband buys property that he fixes up and sells. They have two daughters and go to church. "We live just ordinary lives," she said. "We have no earthly idea why this happened. Now I'm afraid to let my children go outside." According to a news release from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, the incident took place around 8:45 a.m. Thursday at the Homosassa Square shopping plaza on U.S. 19. Myers was parked in front of the Kash n' Karry food store when the man approached her as she stood next to her car. "He said, "Get in the f---ing car,' " she said. Myers told investigators that the man drove her south on U.S. 19 to the Circle K convenience store at Cardinal Street. She told the Times that he didn't say anything for the entire three- to four-mile drive as she cried. He issued his warning at the end and then struck her on the left side of her face. The man then got out of the car and climbed into the passenger side of an older-model, dirty-looking Ford Bronco with tinted windows that pulled in behind Myers' car at Circle K. The vehicle then drove off. Myers reported the abduction at about 9 a.m. She told detectives she may have seen the same Bronco in the Homosassa Square parking lot, according to the release. The suspect is described as white, about 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-1 and stocky, weighing about 200-220 pounds. He was wearing a black T-shirt and boot-cut blue jeans and had no distinguishing accent. Myers did not see the back of the Bronco and was unable to provide license plate information, she said. The Sheriff's Office release said the Bronco may have had a scratched front bumper. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ronda Hemminger Evan said the agency would not be releasing information about why the man may have abducted Myers. "Down the road, that could be valuable information in apprehending a suspect," she said. Myers said she wonders if her abductor had a description of someone to kidnap and simply got the wrong person. "(Deputies) are questioning all our friends and our friends' ex-husbands," she said. "It's got my husband in a tazzle. He's ready to kill somebody."
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