A woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted and held against her will for three days by a man she met on the Tinder app was rescued when a good Samaritan heard her cries for help in Oakland, California.
The woman ran for several blocks in Maxwell Park Monday prior to neighbor Erik Schulz stepping in to assist her, Schulz said in a post on NextDoor, according to the Daily Mail.
Once he heard her screams and began searching for where they were coming from, Schulz claimed he located the unnamed woman who was “shaking, crying, and almost incoherent.”
He added other residents heard her pleas for help but did not do anything.
Meanwhile, the woman claimed she had been held against her will and sexually assaulted for the past three days by her Tinder date, the report continued:
As the brave stranger stood with the victim, her alleged captor drove up and began to threaten to kill her as the brave stranger stood in between them. The alleged kidnapper pulled his car up a few houses to sit and watch the house before eventually driving away. Schulz’s sister called the police and brought the woman inside as his wife [fed] her because she ‘hadn’t eaten’.
Police arrived approximately 15 minutes later to get the woman’s statement and eventually took an Oakland man into custody.
“On July 12th, 2021 at approximately 16:59, Oakland Police Officers were dispatched to the 5400 Block of Fleming Avenue to investigate a report of a kidnapping,” the department said in a statement, according to Fox 2.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that an adult female (Non-Oakland resident) was falsely imprisoned and sexually assaulted by her male partner,” the department continued.
The message on NextDoor also expressed dismay that people ignored the alleged victim while she ran for two blocks.
“I definitely read it on NextDoor and it really was concerning because this is our neighborhood,” Joann Yoshioka told Fox 2. “If it was my daughter — someone that you loved — it would be upsetting to know that no one came to their aid.”
However, Yoshioka said she was thankful there are people willing to help when someone is in need, adding, “I think that when you have a dangerous situation, it’s hard to really assess quickly like is it safe or not.”
“We don’t know if this woman was part of another issue, but I think the guy just had good instincts and he could see she was definitely in distress and I’m appreciative that people like him are will to do something about it,” she concluded.