THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210811
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 34 lines
A 32-year-old Chesapeake woman was abducted Tuesday in her own truck and forced to drive three hours to North Carolina, where she crashed the truck and ran away from the gunman, police said. She was not injured.
Although the crime occurred Tuesday, police did not report it publicly until Thursday.
The woman was getting into her Nissan Pathfinder about 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a professional building in the 7400 block of Granby St. when a man jumped into the back seat and told her to drive, said Larry Hill, police spokesman.
The woman drove until she reached Johnston County near Raleigh, where she intentionally crashed the truck along Interstate 95, Hill said. The woman jumped out, ran to a nearby motel and called police.
Thursday evening, police identified the suspected assailant as Clayton C. Smith III, 31. Warrants have been issued charging him with abduction.
Smith is described as white, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 125 pounds with brown eyes, long, collar-length, brownish-blond hair, a thick mustache and facial acne.
His last known address was in the 9600 block of Chesapeake Blvd., although that address is two years old, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Line at 664-4040. A cash reward is available for information that leads to an arrest.
KEYWORDS: KIDNAPPING ABDUCTION