Police deployed a helicopter and a cadre of officers Thursday afternoon to find a kidnapping suspect and his alleged victim.
The two were ultimately found in the area of Preserve Park Drive in the Loganville area after a massive search, according to Gwinnett County police. The suspect, 23-year-old Tangelo Tafari Roberts of Loganville, was arrested, and the woman, Roberts’ ex-girlfriend, was reunited with her family.
Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said the department “spared no resource” to find and rescue the woman.
“The safety and security of the victim was our No. 1 priority in this case,” she said in a news release. “The team of officers and civilians assigned to this investigation were relentless in acting swiftly in an effort to locate the young woman. We are thankful that the victim was relatively unharmed during this ordeal.”
The 23-year-old woman was in the process of breaking up with Roberts over text messages when Roberts stormed her Grayson home and forced her outside, the victim’s mother told police.
The mother was frantic when police arrived at the home on Cooper Lakes Drive shortly before 1 p.m., Pihera said. She told officers her daughter had been communicating with Roberts throughout the day before he showed up at their house.
He confronted the young woman in an upstairs bedroom, the mother told police. They argued before Roberts allegedly pushed her out of the house and put her in his blue Chevrolet Malibu.
A team of uniform officers, detectives, undercover officers and 911 dispatchers worked to locate the two using their cellphones, according to police. When the victim’s phone was located near a cellphone tower at an area off Ozora Road, a helicopter was sent to the area to search by air.
Roberts was eventually found using surveillance, Pihera said. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the Chevy and took him into custody.
“The victim was found unharmed and reunited with her family,” she said.
Roberts was arrested on a single count of kidnapping and is being held in the Gwinnett County jail without bond, according to police.
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