Kidnapping Mystery Caught On Video Haunts LA Neighborhood

LOS ANGELES, CA — A chilling surveillance video of an apparent kidnapping has bedevilled police and haunted the Los Angeles neighborhood where the attack took place.

Authorities on Wednesday renewed calls for help identifying the attacker or the woman whose desperate screams for help were captured a doorbell security system in the Leimert Park area in the late night of Nov. 12. After two weeks of following up on leads, investigators still don't know who the woman was, nor do they have clues as to her fate.

Officers responded to the potential abduction about 11:20 p.m. Nov. 12 in the 3800 block of Third Avenue but did not immediately open a case because there was no sign of an abduction when they arrived on scene. But then the chilling video surfaced.

In the video, darkness blankets the neighborhood, but a woman's screams pierce the air.

"Help me, somebody help me please,"she shrieks over and over again. Faintly, in the background, a man can be heard repeating, "I am sorry."

Several witnesses also reported hearing the person — described only as black female with dark, braided hair — as she screamed, police said.

Witnesses also reported seeing a car speeding south on Third Avenue with the rear hatch open, according to the LAPD.

The possible victim was believed to be in the front passenger seat, and a black male was apparently at the wheel as the car sped off, police said. One witness told police the woman's hair was being pulled backward as she screamed and that the car had "plastic wrap over the front passenger side window" from possible prior collision damage.

The vehicle was initially described as a Toyota Prius but was later determined to be a 2003 to 2008 Toyota Matrix with black rims, according to the LAPD, which released photos of the vehicle at a news conference Wednesday morning in the hopes of generating additional leads.

"There have been reported people missing, but we haven't been able to tie them to this investigation," the LAPD's David Marcinek told reporters. "All tips are helpful. I can't go into detail of the tips that we've received. But all of them have been investigated. None of them have been able to lead to identifying the victim, the suspect or the vehicle."

On woman told ABC7 she's been tormented by the memory of the woman's screams.

"I'm bothered — and I'm rarely bothered," witness Denise Bingham told ABC7. "I'm all shook up. I'm shaken up just talking about it. Her screams I can't forget it. I can't forget it."

Several witnesses told the news station they jumped in their cars to chase after the suspect but couldn't keep up.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is asked to call LAPD Southwest Division detectives at 213-485-2197. After hours or on weekends, calls can be directed to 877-LAPD-24-7. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS or lacrimestoppers.org.

City News Service contributed to this report.