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A US WOMAN who was kidnapped at a rest stop in broad daylight was able to talk with her husband by mobile phone several times and even talked with police – but she was dead by the time authorities found her car 325 miles away near Spokane International Airport.
Rita Maze, 47, of Great Falls called her husband on Tuesday evening and said she had been struck on the head at an Interstate 15 rest stop north of Helena, Montana, and that she was in the trunk of her car, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said yesterday.
A motive, information on any possible suspects, and detail on how the kidnapping occurred were not immediately available. But Dutton said there was a person of interest in the case and authorities were looking at surveillance video from a convenience store.
Maze’s husband reported her missing. Dutton said that he spoke with her several times as phone coverage allowed.
“She didn’t know her location, but she was able to talk to them over her cellphone, sporadically, as coverage faded in and out,” Dutton said.
“Hysterical”
Rochelle Maze told the Great Falls Tribune her mother was “hysterical” and hard to understand when they spoke on the phone for about 10 minutes.
“I told her that I loved her,” Rochelle Maze said. “That’s the last thing she heard.”
The phone then went dead or lost a signal, and the two were unable to reach each other again.
Law enforcement tracked the use of her phone to help locate the vehicle. Her car’s license plate was captured on a license plate reader near Post Falls, Idaho.
A Helena police officer talked to Maze shortly before she died, Dutton said.
Her body was found in the trunk of her car at 12.30am on Wednesday, Spokane County Deputy Mark Gregory said. The cause of death was not released.
Maze was a longtime cook at Morningside Elementary School in Great Falls, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
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Absolutely horrific. I can’t imagine the hell her family is going through. So sad
Its like a horror movie only real..God love that poor woman and her family.
Saddest thing I’ve read in a long time. Poor woman and family.
I pray that they catch the fiend who done this.Its just horrific.
Omg that poor woman & her family :(
Terrible. I’m thinking she didn’t have a smart phone because she could have used a maps app or something. Nightmare. Poor woman and family.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said it was able to track her movements through signals from local cell towers.
Sadly she was killed before they managed to find the car.
@Daniel: The default assumption is that GPS is unavailable in the boot of any car. Metal (and some other materials) block GPS signals from reaching your device as it is a relatively low-power transmission. This would render typical positioning Apps useless. Cellular positioning is usually far less accurate than GPS unless there are a lot of masts nearby, which is why the Police couldn’t find her quickly. Searching for nearby WiFi SSIDs and providing them to the Police verbally may have provided a more granular position, faster. Easy to say with a cool head though… Poor woman. May she rest in peace.
Jesus that’s a horror film come to life. God help her and her husband and family. Thats horrendous. There is some sick and twisted individuals out there.
Looks like this was an elaborate suicide. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tale-kidnapped-montana-woman-calling-car-trunk-appears-unravel-n645271
I have been to Great Falls a number of times . It is known as the crystal meth capital of the USA. A scary city .
If the murderer was mentally ill and worked for the GAA then I’m sure it’s fine.
sounds like that 1993 movie Vanishing (jeff bridges) Poor Woman i hope her family find peace
Poor woman probably in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unbelievable that it happened in broad daylight. Can’t even begin to imagine the desperation of her family during the abduction and their devistation and heartache when they found out that Rita was dead. RIP
sounds like a trunk call..poor woman all the same #RIP
There was a Movie Called The Call with Halle Barre that was exactly as this happened ..god bless the poor lady ,terrible way to die .
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