Posted on 04/23/2002 7:38:31 AM PDT by Dallas
DUBLIN, Ga. --
A plea for help scrawled on a bathroom wall in Tennessee led to the arrest of a truck driver at a rest stop in Georgia, where police found a woman who said she had been beaten and held against her will for a year.
Katina L. Shaddix, 24, told police she left more than 100 messages in restrooms all over the country.
Maintenance worker Binford Aycock found one, saying, "Won't let me out. Beating me, this is no joke!" while cleaning the restroom at an Interstate 75 rest stop about 6:30 p.m. Friday in McMinn County, Tenn. He called 911.
The message, written in ink marker, named "Cannon truck 383." Officials used a global positioning system to trace the truck to a rest area on Interstate 16 in Georgia. Deputies converged on the truck early Saturday.
Shaddix, of Alabama, was treated at a hospital Monday and taken to a homeless shelter because she told police she had no family.
The truck driver, Shannon E. Jones, 26, of Delhi, N.Y., was being held without bond on a charge of aggravated assault.
McMinn sheriff's Cpl. Greg Walker said a missing-persons report indicated Shaddix had been missing for at least three months. He said Shaddix told Georgia deputies she had been trying to get away from Jones for a year. It was unclear how long Shaddix had been kept on the truck.
Bob Curtis, Cannon's director of operations, said Jones had worked for the company since January and was hauling light bulbs to a Wal-Mart in Douglas, Ga.
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
Just off the top of my head, he's facing kidnapping, rape, assault...I'm sure the prosecutors will come up with a whole lot more for him.
This longer story from an Alabama newspaper site indicates that she wrote the message on at an I-75 rest area bathroom.
Plea on restroom wall leads to trucker's arrest
The Associated Press
4/22/02 9:58 PM
DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) -- A plea for help on a restroom wall in Tennessee led to the arrest of a truck driver at a rest area on Interstate 16, where authorities said they found a woman beaten and wrapped in a blanket in the cab of the truck.
Kittena Shaddix of Alabama, whose age and hometown were not released, was being treated Monday in a Dublin shelter, Laurens County sheriff's Capt. Clyde Tipton said.
Shannon E. Jones, 26, of New York was held without bond in the Laurens County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault, Tipton said.
Maintenance worker Binford Aycock found a message saying, "Won't let me out. Beating me, this is no joke!" while cleaning the restroom at an I-75 rest stop about 6:30 p.m. Friday in McMinn County, Tenn.
The message, written in ink marker, named "Cannon truck 383."
McMinn sheriff's Cpl. Greg Walker broadcast a national search that led to Cannon Express in Springdale, Ark. Company officials used a global positioning system to trace the truck to the I-16 rest area.
Laurens deputies converged on the truck about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Walker said a missing-persons report indicated Shaddix had been missing for at least three months. He said Shaddix told Georgia deputies she had been trying to get away from Jones for a year.
Bob Curtis, Cannon's director of operations, said Jones had worked for the company since January and was hauling lightbulbs to a Wal-Mart in Douglas, Ga.
"Katina L. Shaddix, 24, told police she left more than 100 messages in restrooms all over the country."
That's scary.. she left message all over the country and this was the first person who reported it?
I know that Shannon can be a guy's name, but why is my first thought that Shannon is a lesbian... There are no pronouns in the story to let you make the determination. The media wouldn't exclude something like that on purpose, would they?
I'll wait for further pronouncements, thank you.
It's been a long time since I was in Delhi, NY. I remember cows, pretty farmers' daughters, and the SUNY. No recollection of anyone named Shannon Jones, who would have been in grade school then anyway.
My thoughts exactly. He might be guilty of any number of state and federal charges. On the other hand, she might be a mental case. Since she claims to have no family, I wonder who filed the report. (I realize that anyone can file a report, I just wonder who did it.) And I wonder about the circumstances which led to her being in the truck in the first place.
Woman captive freed after help message investigated in Laurens
|
|
04/22/02 Stephanie Miller Respond to this story Email this story to a friend By STEPHANIE MILLER A woman who had left more than 100 help messages at rest stops from New York to Tennessee was rescued Saturday by sheriffs deputies in Laurens County. According to reports of the Laurens County Sheriffs Department, a call was received from the McMinn County Sheriffs Department in Tennessee that help was needed in locating a tractor-trailer with the company name of Cannon Trucking. A computer on board the truck showed that it was located at the Interstate 16 eastbound rest area and that a woman was possibly being held hostage by the driver. According to a McMinn County sheriffs report, a message was left on a bathroom wall at the Orange Grove I-75 southbound center that a woman needed help. The message read: April 19, 2002; Cannon truck 303; wont let me out; beating me; this is no joke; headed for Douglas. A motorists saw the message and notified authorities. This was the first message reportedly checked out by authorities. Laurens County deputies found the truck and asked the driver, Shannon E. Jones, 26, of N. State Highway 28, Delhi, N.Y., to have his passenger step out of the truck. The report shows Jones acted very calmly. However, when his passenger, Katina L. Shaddix, 24, stepped out of the truck deputies noticed she had a black eye, a cut on her forehead and was holding her stomach. They questioned her about her injuries, the report shows. Shaddix told Laurens deputies that Jones has assaulted her with his fist at the eastbound rest area. She also said she had left a help message in McMinn County and more than 100 other help messages in Virginia and New York. She said she had been trying to get away from Jones for more than a year. Shaddix was taken to Fairview Park Hospital for treatment and then sheltered at WINGS because she told authorities she had no family. Jones was charged with aggravated assault and the truck was picked up by a representative of Cannon Trucking.
|
"Won't let me out. Beating me, this is no joke!"
No reference to the sex of the truck driver here... Wasn't specified until post #13
Probably true but possibly a hoax or at least, not exactly as it seems. Time will tell.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.