Police say they have located the woman who was apparently abducted early Monday morning in Peru, Illinois, and say that they have identified a suspect in the case.
According to authorities, police responded to a call of a woman screaming for help at the intersection of Plum and 7th Street at approximately 4:57 a.m. Officers responded immediately and cordoned off the scene, but were unable to locate the suspect or the victim at that time.
Within hours, numerous other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, had been brought in on the case, which was investigated as a child abduction, according to authorities.
Officials say that by Tuesday morning they had located the victim in the case, and she is now “safe and sound” at a secure location in Peoria.
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Originally, officials believed that the victim in the case was a girl in her teens, but police now say that the victim is a woman in her early-20s.
Police do not believe that the apparent abduction was random in nature, saying that the suspect in the case was involved in a romantic relationship with the victim. Officers say that there is no ongoing threat to the community in connection with the case.
The suspect was identified as Bobby Cross, 27, of Peoria. He is currently wanted on an outstanding warrant in LaSalle County for failure to appear in court in connection to a previous felony conviction for aggravated assault, according to officials.
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Cross had served his sentence in the case, but had not yet paid fines to the court, which led to the warrant for his arrest.
Authorities say they are still piecing together details of the apparent abduction, with dozens of surveillance videos and a slew of physical evidence to comb through. Officials say that officers searched a vehicle involved in the abduction and found multiple weapons, including a gun with a silencer.
