This undated photo provided by the Redding, Calif. Police Department shows Fred Sanderson. Police in Northern California say people looking for a Christmas tree found a partially clothed woman who had been kidnapped and abandoned in a rural area. The woman told police she was kidnapped Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, by Sanderson and Johanna Knighten, two acquaintances who believed she had stolen drugs from Sanderson. Police arrested Knighten Tuesday but are still searching for Sanderson. (Redding Police Department via AP)
Republished November 30, 2017 - 4:49 PM
Original Publication Date November 30, 2017 - 3:16 PM
REDDING, Calif. - Police in Northern California say people looking for a Christmas tree found a partially clothed woman who had been kidnapped and abandoned in a rural area.
Redding Police Capt. Eric Wallace says the group found the 25-year-old woman in a wooded area of Shasta County on Monday. He says the woman sought shelter in a burned-out tree, drank water from a mud puddle and was exposed to extremely cold temperatures, rain and snow.
The woman told police she was kidnapped a day earlier by two acquaintances who believed she had stolen drugs.
Wallace says the woman also told investigators she was beaten and the pair forced her to undress and left her with only a pair of shorts.
Police arrested 44-year-old Fred Sanderson and are searching for Johanna Knighten.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017