Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Kidnapping Canton Woman

CANTON, GA -- A Canton woman's use of her cell phone allowed authorities help rescue her after she was allegedly kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend while attending the Cherokee County Fair, Patch has learned.

Officers were dispatched to a call at a home at Dr. John T. Pettit Street in Canton just after midnight Sept. 24 and met with a woman who said she went to the annual fair with a female friend around 10:30 p.m., but later discovered her 24-year-old friend was nowhere to be found.

Police said the woman told officers she later received a call from the friend, who said her "intoxicated" ex-boyfriend had taken her and "she needed to call the police," the department said.

The supervisor on the scene called the woman's cell phone and was able to obtain an open line, but could only hear music over the phone. The call was disconnected, but the Canton resident began texting the corporal and family members. Canton officers pinged the woman's cell phone, and learned she and the male were near Interstate 75 close to Chattanooga, Tennessee (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

Police, who believed the pair were possibly headed to Kentucky, learned the two stopped at a Flying J convenience store in Chattanooga. Authorities contacted the store clerk, who confirmed a man and woman were inside a gray Nissan Altima stationed in the parking lot of the business. Canton police reached out to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and their troopers converged on the location, apprehended the male subject and located the woman.

Canton police investigators are working with Tennessee authorities to extradite the male, identified as 24-year-old Canton resident Derbi Tito Morales-Reynoso, back to Georgia.

"We are very thankful the victim was safely located before she was seriously injured or suffered a worse fate and that the suspect was apprehended," Canton Police Chief Mark Mitchell said. "I am very proud of the quick work of our determined officers, appreciative of the hard work of the Cherokee emergency dispatch operators and extremely grateful for the vigilant assistance by our fellow law enforcement professionals from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

"It is extremely important to recognize the fact the victim in this case never gave up and had a strong will to survive this volatile situation, which played a key role in finding her and arresting the suspect.”

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Morales-Reynoso is charged with kidnapping with body injury and faces other charges by Canton police. Tennessee officials have charged him with kidnapping, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

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