Good Samaritan Thwarts Kidnapping Attempt At Remote I-5 Lookout

COSTA MESA, CA — A kidnapping that began in Costa Mesa was thwarted early Monday by a good Samaritan, Camp Pendleton police, and the California Highway Patrol, according to reports.

Shortly before 12:15 a.m., officers learned of the alleged kidnapping when a woman called for help from a Southbound Interstate 5 viewpoint parking area, according to California Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe.

She used the phone of a trucker who came to her aid.

The woman reported her alleged kidnapper, a 36-year-old believed to be under the influence at the time of his arrest, had taken her on a date in Costa Mesa when things went wrong.

At some point, the as-of-yet unidentified man "took her against her will," Latulippe told Patch.

He drove them south, toward San Diego, through the dark confines of Camp Pendleton.

At approximately 12:15 a.m., the woman managed to get the driver to pull over at a viewpoint parking area, south of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. There, she got the attention of a semi-truck driver who came to her aid.

The semi-truck driver called 911 for the woman and intervened "in keeping the man from the woman," until the officers arrived, Latulippe told Patch.

Camp Pendleton police, first to the scene, arrested the as-of-yet unidentified 36-year-old man and took him to a Vista Detention Facility.

The driver is expected to be charged with kidnapping, DUI, and other felony charges.

The woman was not believed to be injured during the incident.

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