What to Know
- The woman who police said was seen on video yelling for help from the cabin of a big rig in New Jersey on Wednesday has been found safe, as were the man behind the wheel and the truck involved, police said
- Both the man and woman had been identified Thursday, and police said the pair knew each other but didn't go into details about the nature of their relationship
- According to South Brunswick Police, a woman was seen shouting for help and bleeding from the cab of the truck at around 2 p.m. Wednesday. It was a customer at a car dealership who police said saw the woman in distress as she tried to jump from the truck when it pulled over.
The woman who police said was seen on video yelling for help from the cabin of a big rig in New Jersey Wednesday has been found safe, as were the man behind the wheel and the truck involved, according to police.
South Brunswick Police said that around 5 p.m. Thursday, after about a 26-hour manhunt, they had identified the man and woman involved in the incident that was captured on camera the day before. The two know each other, police said, and were found together in a residential area in Woodbridge.
The white truck cab was also found, according to South Brunswick Detective Tim Hoover. The names of the two people involved have not yet been shared, and Hoover said they "couldn't speculate on charges" yet, citing the active investigation. Police could not confirm if a crime was even committed.
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According to police, the woman did suffer some injuries, but got home safe. The extent of those injuries was not immediately clear, though they did not appear to be serious. Police said that the man and woman were contacted Thursday evening, and would be brought back to the South Brunswick police headquarters to speak with investigators.
Hoover emphasized that it was not a "stranger abduction" case, and that the man and woman were familiar with each other. Police said tips from the community helped police track down the pair, and that some tips came from as far away as California.
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A break in the case came from a truck rental company located near where the incident took place. Police said that the man and woman went shopping for a battery, and staff recovered video which allowed detectives to identify the woman and the truck.
Detectives searched Middlesex and Union counties for the truck, and saw a man who matched the description of the driver exit what they believed to be the semi seen in the video. They approached him, as other investigators contacted the woman seen in the video. Both agreed to come to police headquarters to talk with police.
No further details about the incident were given. Police said it was an active investigation, and that more information would come later.
Police in South Brunswick said that detectives were being assisted by federal, state, and county law enforcement as they conducted the search.
According to police, a woman was seen shouting for help and bleeding from the cab of the truck at around 2 p.m. Wednesday. It was a customer at a car dealership who police said saw the woman in distress as she tried to jump from the truck when it pulled over.
Video was tough to make out, but a woman could be seen popping out of a passenger side window of the tractor trailer cab.
In addition to kicking and screaming for help, police said the woman appeared to be injured, possibly with a cut to her forehead. Police said that the woman was almost fully out of the cab before she was yanked in by the driver.
As the customer who spotted the woman in the truck got closer, the vehicle took off down the road. The tractor trailer cab, with no trailer attached to the back, had last been seen on Route 130 headed towards Ridge Road, police say.
It was later located with both individuals, and police believe the truck originated in New Jersey. The vehicle was towed to the South Brunswick Police Department late Thursday.
