Laconia Kidnapping
 

By CAROL ROBIDOUX
The Union Leader
updated 11:40 p.m. ET, Sun., Feb. 17, 2008

LACONIA, N.H. - Two women were saved by using a cell phone to call 911 after they were forced into a car trunk and abducted by a gunman Saturday night. Laconia police have not identified the women, ages 20 and 21, who said they were forced at gunpoint into the trunk of their 2004 Volkswagen Passat after their kidnapper got into the backseat of their car at the Quick Trip on Gilford Avenue.

The man, described as white and in his early 20s and wearing a black hat, was still at large last night. Police Sgt. Al Lessard said investigators are following up on some leads, but are urging anyone with information to call the Greater Laconia Crime Line at 524-1717.

Last night, Laconia police Sgt. Dennis Ashley said at some point the man ordered them to stop the car and then forced the women into the trunk. One of the women had a cell phone with her and called 911 several times, hanging up each time the car stopped for fear the man was about to open the trunk.

Ashley said the last time the man stopped the car he left it parked less than two miles from where the women were abducted, behind Robbins Auto Parts Store near Mechanic Street in Laconia. One of the women said she heard the kidnapper's footsteps in the snow as he ran from the car.

Police arrived minutes later while the women were still on the line with 911 and freed them from the trunk. They were unharmed, Ashley said.

The kidnapper, who took money from the women, could be charged with armed robbery and two counts of kidnapping, police said.

Although the car was equipped with an emergency trunk release, the fact that the women didn't use it indicates they likely didn't know it was there, Ashley said.

"They're supposed to glow in the dark, but without being exposed to light it's hard to figure out what makes them glow," Ashley said. He said most newer cars have such release handles.

"I've told my own daughter what to do and what not to do, and if she should ever find herself in that kind of situation, to look for the latch and pull on it," Ashley said.

There were no witnesses to the abduction and police are basing the investigation solely on the information from the two women, Ashley said.

Was on T.V. here in Mass.

The girls were on WMUR last night and said they looked for the release but could not find it cuz they were so cramped in the trunck.Understandable and terrifying.

How depressing.......25 years ago the biggest news story in the area would be about some kid getting his arm caught in farm equipment. Brave new world indeed ! I would like my old world back please.

Stories like these are the reason I keep a gun in the house at the lake. Unfortunately, there are bad people all around and as the Lakes Region gets more developed more of them will mix into the local citizenry.

Up until the early 1980s there were less than 100 people in ALL NH prisons......think about that, and what kind of state we used to have. And look around now. All the growth, and development has got us what ?

In Gilford-Laconia, it has brought the Lowe's home improvement of Gilford. That'a a huge store with a huge inventory, and it does not seem to have too many customers when compared to Lowes & Home Depots down in Massachusetts. It's very nice of Lowe's to create that place and then wait for the area to grow the numbers needed to make it profitable. Is it profitable now......probably not? Home Depot decided not to build next to the Gilford Lowes due to not enough business.
........

Kidnapping w/ a gun....how dumb is that....a ticket to an institutionalized prison for most of one's life....probably not the brightest bulbs on the tree..

Every once in a blue moon, some young guy will knock on the door trying to sell magazine subscriptions. I'm always suspicious about that and suspect they are looking for an opportunity. As Ronald Reagan said: Peace through understanding.

Robbery based "on the ability to pay", now there is a concept for yah !!

Lets make it the mantra for a new law

Where money goes, corruption follows... where development goes, decay follows. It's been that way since the beginning, but nobody ever wants to think about it when dollar signs come to town. As soon as a small population of humble people becomes a larger population split into a group of 'haves' and a group of 'have-nots', each group arrogant in its own way, the battle begins. The common denominator is arrogance--the loss of humility.

"Robbery based on the ability to pay."

Hey, check around with your New Hampshire neighbors who's had the same house since 1963, and they'll say: My my, that's exactly what the town is doing to us now with these crazy property taxes! :)

It's our NH advantage........what advantage!

Secondcurve is right....if everybody had a gun around the house or a carry permit,there would be a lot less crime.Criminals prey on the weak and unsuspecting.Oh,by the way,those of you who go to Florida in the winter......Florida has a reciprocal carry permit with NH.As long as you travel with the pistol unloaded in your trunk through the gun-law states like Mass,NY,NJ,DC etc.....you can carry it legally in the sunshine state.

Sam,

Are you sure about unloaded trunk theory? I only did a quick search for Mass, but M.G.L.A. 269 § 10 would not appear to make exception for in the trunk and unloaded.

Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Except in........ :(

NEW YORK--The transportation of handguns is prohibited except by a resident with a license to carry. New York law presumes that an individual stopped in possession of five or more handguns, without a state permit, possesses the handguns for illegal sale, thus subjecting this person to an increased sentence. New York is the only state that prohibits the transportation of handguns without a license. Travelers should therefore be particularly careful since they face severe consequences should they inadvertently violate the state's highly restrictive statutes.
The preceding from an NRA website. I believe it is also illegal in DC but the police there say they won't bother anyone if they don't stop there.

Kick out the Tail Lights
 

I've read that another tip to use if locked in a trunk is to pull back the lining and kick out the tail lights, then wave an arm/hand out of it - anyone driving behind will see, and the kidnapper won't see.....I have no idea how hard it would actually be to break through tail lights, but thought I'd pass it along....fortunately I've never had to put it to the test.

Frdxplorer.....no I"m not sure.I did a google search for reciprocal carry laws and thought I saw on one of the sites that it was legal to transport as long as the gun was not loaded and out of reach in the trunk.I spent 5 years in the MP's,so I am very comfortable around firearms.Glad you brought that up,though...don't want to break the law and will definately check it out.

Possible suspect?
 

WMUR has a story on the 8 hour stand off yesterday in Laconia with a man holed-up in someones elses house.He is a person of interest in the kidnapping of the 2 girls found in the trunck.Here's the link:

http://www.wmur.com/news/15402092/detail.html