Abducted woman, 94, frees herself from car boot after 7-hour ordeal

The abducted woman spent several hours in a car boot at the Scottsdale Fashion Square centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo / FOX 10 Phoenix video

A 94-year-old Phoenix woman freed herself from the boot of her car hours after she was abducted from her home.

A man put her in the boot, drove the car away and parked it at a shopping centre, police said.

The woman's ordeal began yesterday when the man in his 30s forced his way into her home in the suburb of Scottsdale, said Sergeant Ben Hoster, a police spokesman.

The man tied the woman up, put her in the boot of her four-door sedan and drove it a short distance to the Scottsdale Fashion Square centre, Hoster said.

The unidentified woman spent about seven hours in the boot until she managed to get out. A passer-by saw her and called emergency services. The woman was taken to a hospital for an evaluation, but Hoster declined to comment on whether she suffered injuries.

Hoster also would not say whether the woman knew her kidnapper, how she freed herself from the boot or if anything was stolen during the abduction. He said the investigation was still in its early stages.

Brian Czupek, who lives in the same complex as the victim, was walking home from the mall when he saw police vehicles in the parking lot and officers with the victim.

"I thought someone was getting busted for something. I didn't know it was a kidnapping," Czupek said.

He realised the connection to his neighborhood when he saw the woman's home roped off with police tape.

Most residents of the complex are retired people who stay in Arizona during the winter, Czupek said.

-AP