Philadelphia woman whose taped abduction went viral found alive
Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 22, whose kidnapping was caught on surveillance footage, has been found alive in Maryland.
The chilling video showed Freeland-Gaither being abducted off of a deserted Philadelphia street Sunday night. The tape went viral on Monday, and was shared online and played on news programs across the country. Freeland-Gaither was found Wednesday by FBI agents inside of a car in Jessup, Maryland, and her alleged abductor, 37-year-old Delvin Barnes, was arrested.
Special agent Ed Hanko told ABC News that several tips regarding Barnes came in from the public, and the authorities were "able to identify this individual, identify his car and track it into Maryland." They do not believe that Freeland-Gaither knew Barnes, and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said during a news conference that "he's a thug and this is what he does apparently. People like this, there's nothing that makes sense."
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Barnes is also being held on an outstanding capital murder warrant issued for him in Virginia, and is expected to face federal charges following the investigation into Freeland-Gaither's kidnapping.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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