Rita Maze was abducted in Montana on September 6, 2016, and found dead in the trunk of her auto, found abandoned near Spokane, Wash., International Airport early on September 7.
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A kidnapped Montana woman managed to call family members from the trunk of the vehicle in which she was held, but, by the time investigators found her, it was too late, police said.
No cause of death was released, but Dutton said that Maze’s death was believed to have been a homicide and that she was believed to have been killed after the vehicle arrived in Spokane.
Her body was later found in the trunk of her auto in Spokane, Washington.
Authorities said Maze, 47, was abducted at about 11 a.m. Tuesday near Wolf Creek, Montana.
On the way back to Great Falls, she filled up on gas, then stopped at a rest area south of Craig, about 50 miles from her house, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told the Great Falls Tribune.
In an interview with Great Falls Tribune, Rochelle Maze said her mother always travelled with protection and “was really scared” while on the phone.
The FBI is now investigating the case because interstate travel was involved. She was found deceased in Spokane in her vehicle. Authorities are planning to release a photograph of a person of interest, Dutton said. She also said her mother’s credit card was used twice in the time she was missing.
“She was an awesome wife, an fantastic mom, to myself and my brother, Michael, and just an incredible grandma”.
After Helena Police put out an attempt to locate Maze’s auto, it was spotted in Post Falls. She was at a rest stop Tuesday morning when “a large man in a black hoodie” hit her on the head and put her into the trunk of a vehicle. Also, sometime in the late evening, a Helena police officer, searching for Maze, calls her cellphone number and she answers.
Mrs Maze had worked as a traffic attendant and head cook for the Great Falls Public Schools.
While the hunt for her killer continues on, those in Rita’s community are mourning her death.
A GoFundMe account has been created by Shanley Day to help the Maze family.
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The auto was moving, she told her husband and daughter – but she didn’t know where it was going. 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.
