A minister who drives trucks for a living became an unexpected rescuer when he helped save a kidnapping victim in South Carolina last week, with his dashboard camera recording the entire dramatic encounter.
Anthony J. Moore, 53, was traveling through Aiken County near the Georgia state line on Friday when a woman with her hands restrained behind her back ran directly into his truck’s path.
The silent video footage captures the unfolding scene: The victim crosses in front of Moore’s vehicle while a man in a Cadillac that had been parked roadside quickly moves in front of the truck before speeding away. The woman continues running down the roadway as the man drives off in the opposite direction.
“I just see it as a divine assignment from God, because had not I been there with the dashcam … they probably wouldn’t have caught the footage that needed to be catched,” Moore explained to The Associated Press during a phone conversation. “It was another assignment from God, a special assignment from God. That a life needed to be saved.”
Law enforcement officials have taken Jonathan Willard, 39, of New Ellenton, into custody on charges including kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer. He remained in custody Thursday at the Aiken County Detention Center.
The sheriff’s department incident report states that the victim was out for a walk when a man driving a green Cadillac “came from behind her and told her he was with the police.” The woman reported that he confiscated her phone and Social Security card, placed handcuffs on her, and forced her into the vehicle’s back seat.
According to the victim’s account to police, the suspect stopped near a gated property and exited the car. She attempted to open the rear doors but discovered they were secured.
While the man searched through the trunk, she managed to climb over the seat and flee through the unlocked driver’s door.
Moore was traveling south of Aiken when he encountered the fleeing woman.
“I let my window down and she said, ‘Please help me. He’s trying to kidnap me,’” Moore recalled.
When the woman moved to avoid the pursuing man, Moore said the suspect drove up alongside him and displayed “what looks to be a badge.”
“And he said, ‘I’m with law enforcement, and she jumped out of my car,’” Moore remembered. The man then departed in the Cadillac.
People nearby contacted emergency services, assisted in removing the victim’s restraints, and provided her with water. Moore said the woman informed him that she had completed her graduation ceremony the previous day, and that the suspect had also stolen her diploma.
The victim requested that Moore accompany her back to the location where she escaped, hoping to recover any belongings the man might have discarded. He said their search turned up nothing.
The Aiken County Solicitor’s Office reported that Willard has not yet received legal representation and no court appearances have been set. The AP’s request to interview Willard at the jail was refused.
Moore serves as pastor at Amazing Grace Ministries in Denmark, South Carolina. His wife, Betty, who works as an associate pastor at their church, noted that Moore is also a 27-year Army veteran.
“When I learned that he was caught the next day I was relieved of a lot of things that he didn’t get away,” he said, “to go try that again someplace else.”
