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 no charges have been filed 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.

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.”

She was later ordered out of the vehicle near Springdale, Wash., and fled into underbrush along the road as one of the captors reportedly shot at her. The woman made her way to a nearby home, told a man there that she’d been “kidnapped, raped and shot at,” documents show. The man contacted the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, which dispatched deputies to the scene.

Deputies searched the area and found a green Suburban and shell casings consistent with the statement given by the young woman. The case was transferred to Spokane authorities.