Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A Mason-area man was taken into custody following an alleged abduction and assault.


The Ingham County Sheriff’s Office issued the following release:

"On Friday, September 6th, at 6:30 a.m. Ingham County 911 Center alerted Ingham County Deputies that a woman was assaulted and being held against her will.

The individual who reported the incident had only recently met the woman and began receiving messages from her late Thursday night. They stated that she had met a male who drugged her, took her to an abandoned house, and assaulted her. She went on to tell our caller that the male had firearms, would not let her leave, and that she was afraid.

Communications ceased between the caller and the female around 6:00 a.m. Dispatch and Police personnel established the female’s location and investigators developed information verifying the female and alleged suspect’s identity. The residence was surrounded, Ingham Regional Special Response Team activated, and a search warrant for the residence was obtained.

Through significant effort, Investigators and Negotiators made contact with the female and alleged suspect via phone. At approximately 10:30 a.m. Negotiators coached the suspect in the residence to surrender to tactical members positioned outside. Soon after, the woman was safely secured. No injuries resulted during these contacts and no medical conditions were identified that would require medical treatment. As a result of the ensuing investigation, the 28- year-old Mason-area man was arrested and lodged at the Ingham County Correctional Facility.

Detectives will present the case to the Ingham County Prosecutors Office this weekend.

W. Columbia Road was never closed for vehicular travel and there was never any known threat to the greater public. This investigation is ongoing with no present needs from our community.

The Sheriff’s Office is thankful to our community and law enforcement partners for providing resources and assisting with the logistics necessary to resolve this incident and others like it. We take pride in our community for allowing us to perform duties efficiently and with the highest measure of safety available."