A woman in Utah has shared the strange note she found at a gas station that led to the rescue of a 'kidnapped' woman
An anonymous woman from Cedar City, Utah, said she was using the toilet at a gas station on March 8 when she was handed a desperate, handwritten note by another woman who claimed she was being kidnapped and had no phone.
"We were just on our way home from St. George and pulled over at that gas station, and I just went in to use the restroom," she told KSL. "When I came out, the lady just kind of flung the door open...she handed me the paper and said 'please give this to police'.
“I said ‘Are you in trouble?’ and she said ‘Yes,’ and I said ‘Ok I’ll help you,'” the woman said. “Then she said, ‘Give this to police I have to go, he’s waiting right outside, he’s right there’ and she was like shaking.”
Acting quickly but cautiously, the woman reassured her she’d alert the authorities.
Then, pretending to be on her phone, she captured video of the man the alleged victim had referred to, watching as the pair got into a Chevrolet Equinox - just like the one mentioned in the note.
She followed the vehicle to get the license plate number and then called the police to relay everything before watching the scene from a distance.
A deputy from the Iron County Sheriff’s Office pulled the car over shortly after and immediately noticed the woman inside was “not behaving normally" so he asked her to get out of the car.
Behind the wheel was 53-year-old Epigmenio Bustillos Marquez, who gave the deputy a fake ID from Durango, Mexico, under a false name and birthdate.
Court records show the woman told police she had been in a relationship with Bustillos Marquez for 25 years.
That morning, she said he was supposed to drive her to work but suddenly changed course, accused her of cheating, and refused to let her leave the car. She also claimed he took her phone and hit her in the face, “causing lasting pain to her face and jaw".
Even after being Mirandized and allowing the deputy to search his wallet, where his real Mexican ID was found, Bustillos Marquez reportedly continued lying about his birthdate even after his fingerprints were taken.
He’s now facing a slew of charges including aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; assault, a class B misdemeanor, providing police false personal information, a class C misdemeanor; damage to a communication device, a class B misdemeanor, prohibited use of identification card, a class A misdemeanor; and driving without a license or permit, a class B misdemeanor.