A woman’s quick bathroom stop at a gas station led to her rescue from a suspected abductor.
Authorities apprehended 53-year-old Epigmenio Bustillos Marquez earlier this month. He now faces charges including aggravated kidnapping, providing false information to a police officer, assault, and the ‘damage or interruption of a communication device’.
The situation came to light thanks to a vigilant bystander who encountered the alleged victim in distress at a Cedar City gas station in Utah. The victim discreetly handed the bystander a note, revealing the terrifying circumstances.
The anonymous bystander shared with KSL-TV: “We were just on our way home from St. George and stopped at that gas station for a restroom break. When I exited the restroom, the lady urgently opened the door.
“She handed me the paper and said, ‘please give this to police.’”
The note stated: “Help [the victim’s name was redacted for anonymity]. Equinox 2017 white.
“My number [redacted again]. He have my phone give to police.”
The bystander recalled: “I asked, ‘are you in trouble?’, and she confirmed, ‘yes’, so I assured her, ‘ok I’ll help you’.
“She then urged, ‘give this to police I have to go, he’s waiting right outside, he’s right there’ and she was visibly shaking.”
Instead of immediately leaving, the attentive witness observed the woman and her alleged captor for about five minutes within the gas station, noting how he purchased a hot dog and a drink.
The observant individual pretended to use her phone while discreetly recording the suspect, then watched as they entered his 2017 white Chevrolet Equinox.
She promptly contacted the police, reporting the incident and following the vehicle. She provided the license plate and their direction, northbound on Interstate 15.
Marquez was apprehended eight miles away from the gas station during a coordinated traffic stop, while the bystander ensured the victim’s safety by keeping a watchful eye.
The bystander expressed concern: “I was just more worried like ‘What if she panics and says ‘I’m fine,’ — I just wanted to make sure the cops like … don’t let her go back with him, no matter what she says,” she explained.
According to KSL-TV, the woman informed a deputy that she had been in a 25-year relationship with Marquez, who had recently been behaving erratically. On that morning, he accused her of infidelity.