A 47-year-old woman who was abducted at a gas station in Montana called police for help while locked inside the trunk of her own vehicle before being found dead early Wednesday more than 300 miles away near Spokane, Washington.
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She made calls to her family and police while in the trunk of her auto, where she was found early Wednesday.
Maze was able to call her family and law enforcement between then and the time that her vehicle was found.
The auto was found around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday on W Geiger Blvd and S Spotted Rd in west Spokane County according to Spokane authorities.
The daughter said her mother was terrified because she knew her abductor – whom she described as a large man in a black hoodie – had access to the gun she kept in her purse for protection.
Sheriff Dutton said a police officer had spoken to Mrs Maze before her death.
A license plate camera captured her auto near the Idaho-Washington state line, using phone data police located the vehicle near the Spokane Airport where Maze’s body was found in the trunk. Rita Maze said her mom was hysterical and hard to understand during the 10-minute conversation, which ended when the phone went dead or cell coverage was lost.
Her daughter said the longtime crosswalk attendant and school cook had no enemies and was preparing for her 48th birthday on Sunday.
The FBI is now involved in the investigation because the suspect crossed state lines. In less than 24 hours since the page was activated, it has already drawn in more than $12,000 in donations, topping the goal of $10,000.
A woman who was abducted in Montana spoke to her family by telephone several times before she was fatally shot.
Authorities have identified the woman as 47-year-old Rita Maze of Great Falls.
He added: “We do know that Rita was in Helena visiting her relatives earlier that day”.
Maze’s family is planning a candlelight vigil in her memory for Saturday.
Investigators were checking the auto for fingerprints and DNA to see if they could find a match to someone with a criminal record, Rochelle Maze said.
A GoFundMe campaign to support Maze’s family had raised almost $10,000 by Thursday morning. We need to do whatever it takes to make things easier for the family to grieve. Proceeds will go to helping to defray service expenses for this genuinely lovely soul.
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A GoFundMe has been started to support the family.
