Lake County Sheriff's Office detectives have arrested a Citrus County man they believe is responsible for the abduction of an Orlando woman last week.
On April 3, deputies were called to Triple E Road in Clermont for a report of a woman who was running and appeared to be in need of help.
The woman said she had been abducted on Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County by an unknown Hispanic man, but she was able to flee.
Deputies said a Clermont resident found the woman taped up with electrical tape and screaming for help.
They said she had been beaten and bound, but broke free more than 20 miles and 24 hours later.
The victim was able to give detectives a description of the suspect's car. Deputies said a car matching that description was captured on a Florida Department of Transportation camera on Florida's Turnpike during the time frame of the alleged abduction.
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This video helped detectives identify the registered owner of the car as 41-year-old Axel Rivera-Pagan of Homosassa.
The victim identified Rivera-Pagan in a photo lineup, deputies said. Rivera-Pagan also resembled the composite sketch the victim helped create early on in the investigation, deputies said.
A motive for the kidnapping is still unclear.
“It appears he was possibly going to take her life. We don’t know that, it didn’t get that far thank goodness,” said Lake County Sheriff Fred Jones.
Rivera-Pagan was taken into custody Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Office at Red Lobster in Spring Hill, where he was employed. He was taken to the Hernando County Jail, where he's being held in lieu of a $36,000 bail.
Detectives said they are working with crime scene investigators to collect evidence from his car.
Detectives said they are working to figure out if there’s a link to an August case in which the body of Essence Owens was discovered in a shallow grave in Groveland.
Owens was also kidnapped along Orange Blossom Trail, deputies said.
Her killer has never been found.
Detectives said they're examining evidence from both cases before determining if he's a suspect in both cases.
“It is concerning that there could be some crimes out there that have not been solved,” said Jones. “Hopefully this not only brings closure to this right here, but it kind of sheds light on some other cases that may be out there.”
Deputies said they're sharing information with neighboring counties to find out if they have any similar unsolved cases.
Cox Media Group