Two Women Kidnapped
at Knifepoint from Georgia Library
Two 18-year-old women taking a General Equivalency Degree class at the Johnston Lakes Library in Lake Park, Georgia, were abducted at knifepoint December 11. The kidnapper reportedly took the victims to Florida and sexually assaulted at least one before they escaped by stealing his car as he paid for gas at a rural gas station.
The suspect, Donald Lee Mitchell, 36, led Florida officials on an eight-hour wooded pursuit before being captured and imprisoned the following night, the Valdosta Daily Times reported December 14.
The women were that night’s only two students in the class, which usually has eight to 10 people, said Capt. David Arnold of the Lowndes County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office. Arnold said the suspect entered the class around 7:30 p.m. and locked the teacher in a room adjoining the classroom, which is separated from the main part of the library.
Mitchell, who is being held in Madison County, Florida, faces charges in both states. He reportedly served seven years for sex offenses committed in 1990, the newspaper said.
Posted December 18, 2000.
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