JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office no longer think a woman is in immediate danger after a suspected kidnapping Sunday.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, one of its deputies responded to a call for a disturbance on Valley View Road in Barnhart, at around 8:20 a.m. Sunday.
A 911 caller reported that a male suspect was sexually assaulting a woman in a black Chevrolet extended cab pickup with Arizona license plates.
"The woman got out of the truck running away, and she was partially unclothed," Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Public Safety Coordinator Grant Bissell said. "She got out of the truck and tried to run away. He caught her, tackled her, started punching her over and over, dragged her back into the truck, and then he took off from the neighborhood at that point."
Deputies chased after the truck but had to cut off the pursuit when the man started driving the wrong direction Interstate 70.
Bissell said deputies were able to track down the man and woman Monday. He said they both fled from deputies and have not been found since. He said both are now considered wanted by the sheriff's office.
"While circumstances could always change or be updated, at this time we do not believe the female is in immediate danger," a statement from the office said.
Bissell said both the man and the woman have been arrested together in the past for domestic violence.
Bissell said deputies also found the truck and additional pieces of evidence. He said the truck was reported stolen out of St. Peters.
The investigation is ongoing.
