GPS leads cops to woman snatched off Philly street

A 22-year-old Philadelphia woman, whose abduction off the street Sunday was captured on surveillance video, was back with her parents Thursday after deft police work and a GPS tracking device led to her rescue in Maryland and the arrest of her alleged abductor.

Law enforcement officers freed Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, a nurse's assistant, on Wednesday afternoon after surrounding the car of her alleged abductor, Delvin Barnes, 37, in a parking lot in Jessup, Md., and taking him into custody.

Barnes, who was held overnight in Maryland, appeared in court on a videoconference Thursday and waived his right to an extradition hearing, paving the way for his transfer to Virginia to face previous charges of attempted murder and sexual assault.

Capt. Jayson Crawley of the Charles City County Sheriff's Office in Virginia told the Los Angeles Times that Barnes is suspected of abducting and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 1, and may be linked to other cases.

"We're thinking that there may be multiple victims out there," Crawley said. "He did intimidate our victim and showed her photos of girls he claimed he did this to before, and we're just hoping if there are other victims out there, they will come forward."

After noting a similarity between their assault case and a photo of the abductor being sought in Philadelphia, Virginia authorities provided Barnes name to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Another critical element of the case fell into place when police found that the suspect's car, which had been seen in surveillance video, was equipped with a GPS device that had been attached by a car dealer who feared it might need to be repossessed because of the owner's bad credit report, police said.

Investigators read the dealership's name on a traffic-camera image of the car and asked the dealership to turn on the car's GPS and provide the vehicle's location.

The GPS eventually led officers to the parking lot where officers spotted a man fitting the suspect's description — and a young woman — in the back seat of a sedan similar to the one used in the abduction.

When the suspect got into the front seat, officers with guns drawn moved in and arrested Barnes without resistance.

Tim Jones, special supervisory agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told reporters in Maryland on Wednesday night that Freeland-Gaither was "very emotionally distraught" and briefly hospitalized.

She was reunited with her family Wednesday night in Maryland, after her brief hospitalization for minor injuries, and returned with them to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey, speaking with reporters Wednesday, described Barnes as a "thug" and a "vicious predator."

"Hopefully, he'll be off the streets and in jail for the rest of his life, because that's what he deserves," Ramsey said.

At his side was a beaming Keisha Gaither, the victim's mother, who thanked police. "I'm taking my baby home," she said.

Philadelphia police detective James Smith said investigators believe the suspect was a stranger to the victim. He said the case is still under investigation and officers were waiting to interview Freeland-Gaither at length.

Ramsey told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Freeland-Gaither's refusal to quit fighting, even while tied up, "probably helped keep her alive."

"My understanding is that even after she was in the car and she was bound she continued to fight and struggle with this guy, so she's got a lot of fight in her," Ramsey said.

Her resistance started almost immediately as she kicked out two windows on her abductor's car after she was dragged off a brightly-lit street Sunday night three blocks from her home in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.

The shocking abduction quickly gained national attention after police released surveillance video showing her being manhandled into a Ford Taurus with Philadelphia plates.

Police were initially able to track the abductor's movement through his use of the Freeland-Gaither's ATM card, which first showed up in Aberdeen, Md., about 75 miles south of Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, police released an additional video of a man, also wearing dark clothing similar to that used in the abduction, making a purchase at a convenience store.

Contributing: Associated Press

Follow Doug Stanglin on Twitter: @dstanglin