Just after 4:00 a.m. this morning, Tucson Police officers responded to a hotel in the 1000 block of South Freeway Rd, reference the report of a possible kidnapping. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the individual who called 911.
The man told officers that he and his wife were traveling home from California to Texas and stopped in Tucson to rest. He said he fell asleep in the hotel room the previous evening and when he woke up he noticed his wife, 68-year-old Kae-Soo Kim Lee was missing, along with their vehicle. The victim’s husband further explained that his wife had advanced stages of Dementia and was not able to drive. Officers began searching for Mrs. Lee and the couple’s vehicle.
Detectives responded to the scene to continue the investigation. Video evidence from the hotel parking lot showed Mrs. Lee enter the parking lot just before 1:00 a.m. The video also showed two individuals approach Mrs. Lee and walk her to her vehicle. Mrs. Lee was placed into the front passenger seat, while the other two subjects got into the vehicle and drove away with her.
Investigators began the process of putting together a “Silver Alert” through the department of Public Safety. A Silver Alert is a public notification system to broadcast information about missing persons – especially senior citizens with Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, or other mental disabilities, in order to aid in their recovery. After receiving approval for the Silver Alert, Mrs. Lee’s information as well as her vehicle information was broadcast throughout the state.
Shortly after the alert went out, the suspects that had taken Mrs. Lee saw the alert on an electronic billboard in the Phoenix area. The suspects stopped at a convenience store and one of them called 911 to turn himself in.
Phoenix police responded to the store and detained the suspect. Mrs. Lee was located and appeared to be in good physical condition. The other suspect fled before police arrived. Tucson Police officers transported Mrs. Lee’s husband to Phoenix to reunite the couple.
Investigators are speaking with the detained suspect to figure out a possible motive and to determine exactly what took place.
This was the first time that the Silver Alert was used for a kidnapping situation, according to Tucson Police.