Spokane Police probe reported kidnapping

The Spokane Police Department is investigating the reported abduction and kidnapping of a woman who said she was assaulted in Spokane and dumped in the woods in Stevens County where her captor fired several gunshots at her that missed. A search warrant in Spokane County Superior Court names the suspect as Forest J. Shields, who turned 30 on Sunday. Shields was arraigned on Tuesday for possession of a stolen car and illegal possession of a firearm but he has not yet been charged in connection with the reported kidnapping. The victim reported that a second man was involved but it’s unclear whether he also is in custody. Spokane Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said detectives are still interviewing witnesses. According to court records, the 21-year-old woman, told police that at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 28, she was placed in the back of a Chevrolet Suburban against her will. It’s unclear how and where the woman was confronted by her abductors. “Prior to being placed in the vehicle, she was assaulted by (Shields) and a male identified as Kasper,” Detective Jerry Hensley wrote. The woman “was duct taped around her ankles, wrists, and over her mouth.” Just after noon that same day, Stevens County sheriff’s Deputy Mike George was dispatched to 4530 Springdale Hunters Road outside of Springdale, Wash. to talk to a man who said the female victim had just come to his home. The man, Robert Thornton, said the young woman told him that “she had been kidnapped, raped and shot at in the woods near his house,” Hensley said. Deputies searched the area and found a green Suburban and shell casings consistent with the statement given by the young woman. On Sept. 14, Hensley interviewed the woman. She told him that she had been with Shields and Kasper – who is not otherwise identified in court records – who took her to a house in Spokane “where she was assaulted and kidnapped,” Hensley wrote. “They advised the victim their intention was to kill her.” The woman said Shields was armed with a semi-automatic hand gun and Kasper had a revolver. She was bound and placed in the vehicle and driven to an unknown location. She said Shields hit her in the head several times with his handgun and threatened to kill her. When they arrived outside of Springdale, Kasper cut the duct tape and told Shields to walk, Hensley wrote. “As she walked up a logging road, Shields fired multiple shots at her,” Hensley wrote. “She continued to walk into the underbrush and was not hit by the gunfire.” After the suspects left, the woman said she made her way to Thornton’s house, who called an ambulance which transported her to a Spokane area hospital. At the later interview, the female victim was able to identify Shields, who has two prior convictions for attempting to elude police officers, from a photo montage.