| Philly.com | - |
Keisha
Gaither looks up at Detective James Sloan after her daughter was found
alive in Maryland on Wednesday, November 5, 2014. ( Steven M. Falk /
Staff Photographer ). Keisha Gaither looks up at Detective James Sloan
after her daughter was found alive ...
Abducted woman found alive in Maryland
Keisha Gaither looks up at Detective James Sloan after her daughter
was found alive in Maryland on Wednesday, November 5, 2014. ( Steven M.
Falk / Staff Photographer )
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Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, the 22-year-old woman abducted Sunday near her home in Germantown, was found alive in Maryland and is safely home in good condition, law enforcement officials said Wednesday night.
Her assailant, Delven Barnes, 37, is in custody and will face federal charges, they said.
"He's a vicious predator," Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said at an evening news conference. "Hopefully he'll be off the streets and in jail for the rest of his life because that's what he deserves.
At his side, a smiling Keisha Gaither, Freeland-Gaither's mother, thanked law enforcement officials and the public for her daughter's safe return.
Law enforcement officials had identified Barnes' car and tracked it to Maryland.
Freeland-Gaither was found in Jessup, injured but "in good shape," said Ed Hanko, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia office of the FBI.
As the investigation into the violent abduction stretched into a third day, authorities had pursued fresh leads in Maryland based on new evidence linked to a person of interest in the kidnapping, law enforcement sources said.
Investigators had been searching for a man in dark clothing who had been captured in at least three surveillance videos connected to the kidnapping of the nursing assistant, who attended high school in Maryland before moving to Philadelphia.
The new evidence - a receipt from an Acme in Rhawnhurst, a broken key chain, smashed glass, a zip tie and an empty Herr's potato chip bag - was discovered on a property in Havre de Grace, Md. the sources said.
The woman who found the items on her property had heard news reports about the abduction and called police, the sources said.
The items were being examined by forensic experts, the sources said, and the receipt in particular led investigators to the Rhawnhurst Acme. There, they recovered new video showing a clearer image of the person of interest in Freeland-Gaither's kidnapping.
The video, released Wednesday, shows a man walking into the store at 8200 Roosevelt Blvd. and making a purchase of what appears to be potato chips. The footage was recorded Sunday afternoon, hours before the victim was dragged into a car on West Coulter Street.
Police believe it is the same man who was captured on video in Aberdeen, Md. after the kidnapping, using Freeland-Gaither's ATM card to withdraw money from a PNC Bank, then purchasing Herr's potato chips and water from a gas station.
Police had also released further video of the abduction on Coulter Street, showing more clearly a brief but violent interaction between the woman and her kidnapper before she was dragged away.
Havre de Grace, a small coastal town at the head of the Chesapeake Bay and minutes off of I-95, is about five miles north of Aberdeen and 118 miles from the town where Freeland-Gaither spent her high school years.
In the latest video, the man is wearing dark clothing and black and red sneakers. A chain leads to his right pocket. Investigators noted the man has a distinct gait. The video also shows a close-up of the man's face.
Freeland-Gaither's grandmother, Ana Mulero, said early Wednesday that she had not seen the latest video released by authorities, but did not recognize the man in the previous videos released.
She said the past several days had been overwhelming and exhausting. On Tuesday, her family held an emotional press conference at which Freeland-Gaither's parents tearfully pleaded for her safe return and encouraged their daughter to keep fighting.
"Though it looks like I have a shell, I'm not that strong," Mulero said. "But I have to remain strong. I have to remain positive."
She said she was grateful for the attention her granddaughter's case has received - "this brings peace to the family," she said.
"We just want to find our beloved Carlesha," she said.
The FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Philadelphia office, Christian Zajac, said Tuesday that the agency has offered a $25,000 reward in the case, bringing to $47,000 the total reward - which includes contributions from the mayor's office, the police union, the Philadelphia Credit Union and the Citizens' Crime Commission.
awhelan@philly.com
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