Thursday, June 16, 2005
A park ranger at Kenlake State Resort Park at Aurora
recently thwarted the apparent kidnapping and
attempted rape of a passing motorist.
Ranger Chris Evans was driving on US 68 in a park
ranger cruiser on June 11 when he was nearly struck
by a car at an intersection. The driver then pulled
in front of the cruiser and stopped in the middle of
the road.
A woman emerged from the vehicle. The ranger’s
report states: a white female opened the driver’s
door and came running, screaming, and crying to my
police car. She pleaded for help, saying a man in
the car was armed with a knife and was trying to
kill her.
I got out of my car and did a felony take-down of
the suspect, Evans reported. Meanwhile, an off-duty
sheriff’s deputy, observing the incident from a
nearby restaurant, arrived on the scene, searched
the car and found a large hunting knife.
After everything was over, (the victim) cried and
hugged me and thanked me, Evans reported.
In a subsequent interview, he said the victim had
been driving around for about an hour and a half
with the man holding a knife to her throat.
The suspect faces multiple felony charges, included
kidnapping.
On Tuesday, the grateful woman visited the park and
appeared in news interviews to thank Evans.
Evans is a three-year veteran of the parks ranger
division and previously served as a long-time
assistant police chief in Benton.
He shrugs off the suggestion that he is a hero. He
was just doing his job, he said.
Ranger Evans performed in the highest tradition of
the Department of Parks, said Parks Commissioner
George Ward. His alertness and prompt action
literally saved a life. We deeply appreciate his
professionalism. |