“She was at a rest stop and a suspect approached her and hit her in the head and put her in the trunk”.
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Rita Maze of Great Falls died of a single gunshot wound to the chest and abdomen, but the manner of death is pending further investigation, the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday.
During her phone call, Maze had told her husband she was anxious the abductor might find the gun, a 9mm Ruger, that she kept in her purse. She tells them she’s in a trunk of a vehicle, but she’s not sure if it’s hers.
When Maze didn’t come home on time and her family was unable to reach her, they became concerned for her safety. In a taping Thursday afternoon, Rochelle recounted her mother Rita’s frantic phone calls. The coroner’s office didn’t say what type of gun killed Maze.
A Montana woman who called her husband and daughter from the trunk of her own auto after being abducted from a rest stop was killed by a gunshot wound, officials said Thursday.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, Maze spoke to family members and a Helena police officer by cellphone.
Rochelle Maze tells the Great Falls Tribune that her mom was terrified because she traveled with a gun and knew her abductor had access to it.
She was believed to have been taken to Washington state by the time she last made contact after 10 p.m. and was found in the trunk of her vehicle around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday near Spokane International Airport, Sheriff Leo Dutton told the Daily News. The cause of death was not released.
She and her mother had also been planning to soon go dress shopping for her wedding next spring, but now “she’s just going to miss a lot”.
The daughter said that she was getting married in May and that she and her mother were planning to shop for a wedding dress October 1.
Rita Maze, abducted Tuesday morning, is believed to have died from a single gunshot wound..
“We’re relatively certain of the time when she became deceased”.
Police said a “person of interest” had been identified in the investigation, and surveillance video was also being looked at.
Rita also had a son, Michael, a sergeant in the Air Force who is stationed in Germany.
“My mom had no enemies”.
Maze was a longtime cook at Morningside Elementary School in Great Falls, Montana. Nobody would want to hurt her.
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“I would say generally rest stops are safe, but like anywhere else, you need to be aware of your surroundings, it all comes down to situational awareness”.
