Accidental emergency call leads police to abducted woman, quick arrest: cops
A mistaken 911 call led Miami Springs police officers to discover a man had abducted a woman shortly after beating and slamming her head into a car, authorities say. It only took five hours to put the alleged culprit in handcuffs.
Christian Andre Lopez, 31, is facing charges of kidnapping and battery, jail records show. As of Saturday night he was still in the Metrowest Detention Center.
On Thursday, a woman’s phone inadvertently triggered an emergency alert, Miami Springs police said in a post on social media. When the emergency call connected, a dispatcher could hear a woman screaming, “Stop hitting me.”
This triggered officers to race over to the alert location.
Authorities say they found the woman distraught, with “visible injuries” to her face and body. Police quickly scoured nearby surveillance footage to get to the bottom of what happened — one camera did reveal what occurred.
Lopez and the woman were in an SUV when she tried to get out, the footage retrieved by police shows. He is seen in the video grabbing and tugging on her to prevent her from leaving.
When she finally broke his grasp, he followed her and then is seen kicking her in the stomach before shoving her onto the ground. The footage then shows him lifting her up and dragging her back to the car, appearing to slam her head into its window before throwing her inside.
Police say Lopez then drove her to a nearby hotel where she was eventually able to escape and later be found by authorities.
It took less than five hours for police to identify Lopez as the man in the footage and arrest him, authorities said.
“We commend our patrol officers and Criminal Investigations Division for their outstanding work and rapid response in bringing this case to a successful resolution,” police said in a statement. “The Miami Springs Police Department remains committed to protecting our community.”
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