Two men were caught on a mall’s security camera as they chased a woman through a parking lot, then grabbed and stuffed her into the trunk of a car, authorities said.
Shoppers nearby seemed to notice the incident Sunday night, but none attemped to stop it.
Police on Thursday were still trying to determine the identities of the woman, who appeared to be in her 20s, and two men seen on the tape made at Corona Discount Mall about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The woman’s reaction on the fuzzy video when she saw the men suggested she knew them. Detective Frank Zellers said the incident was being investigated as a kidnapping.
“It’s very discouraging right now and it’s really difficult for us, because we don’t know who the victim is,” he told KCAL-TV. “And it’s obvious that some kind of crime occurred.”
No solid leads
The department had received several calls from witnesses and others in recent days, but had no solid leads, Officer Jesse Jurado said. He said investigators had not yet ruled out the possibility that the incident was a hoax.
A security camera recorded the scene as the woman walked from the parking lot to the sidewalk outside the entrance.
When a black Toyota Solara raced up and braked, the woman looked over her shoulder at the car and took off running with the vehicle in pursuit.
Despite the fuzzy taped images, the woman can be seen running down a parking aisle as two men jump out of the Solara and chase her. One man threw the woman over his shoulder, carried her back to the car and put her in the trunk, which the other man had opened.
A security guard at the mall heard the woman yelling for someone to call the police as she was being stuffed in the trunk, Jurado said.
A handful of shoppers visible in the foreground of the scene appeared to turn their heads and watch. In addition, several motorists drove through the scene.
