The unidentified woman whispered to the OH 911 operator the identity of her kidnapper, relative location and then was able to stay on the line for 20 minutes until police arrived at the abandoned house from where she had called. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping.
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(AP Photo/Ann Sanner). Police tape cordons off the remains of a house. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in rural Richland County, near Mansfield, Ohio, where authorities say a woman’s body was found nearby. While he slept, the woman had grabbed his phone to make the call and pleaded for someone to help her.
A frantic 911 call Tuesday from a woman who said she had been abducted led police to an abandoned Ashland home.
One of the victims was Stacey Stanley, a 43-year-old Huron County woman whose family said had been missing since September 8 after she got a flat tire near the home where her body was found. When officers responded to the area of the home, they found the woman alive with Shawn Michael Grate.
The bodies found in Ashland were later identified as women who’d gone missing in the area.
Upon further investigation, authorities say they discovered the bodies of three other women.
Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell made the announcement as officials worked to identify one of those bodies as well as a third body found at a house in neighboring Richland County.
An anonymous family member said Shawn Grate’s ex-wife, Amber Bowman, was lucky to escape with her life as the family had witnessed him going insane on more than one occasion. She also added that the accused had a stun gun.
The woman told the dispatcher she had known him for about a month and a half.
Mr Grate was later charged with kidnapping and two counts of murder.
Grate is charged with kidnapping in the escaped woman’s abduction.
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After the bail amount was announced, Shawn M. Grate, 40, was heard replying to Ashland County Judge Ronald Forsthoefel over video conference, “Sounds fair”. He has another hearing scheduled for Monday morning and has been held on a bond of $1 million.
