Woman Saves Herself During Alleged Kidnapping With Simple Note to a Stranger

A Florida woman police say was kidnapped by her boyfriend was able to pas a note to a stranger at a gas station -- a move that ultimately led to her rescue.

Francis Knuck III was arrested for alleged kidnapping. (Image source: WKMG-TV)

WKMG-TV reported the unnamed victim passed the note asking for help Friday afternoon at a Hess gas station off Interstate 95 near State Road 207 in St. Johns County. Authorities said the note was a request from the 31-year-old that the stranger call her father, not the authorities. The stranger called the police anyway.

Within two hours, St. Johns County deputies identified the vehicle and took the scared but uninjured woman to a shelter and arrested the driver, identified as 41-year-old Francis Knuck III.

WKMG reported that authorities are still investigating how long the woman was allegedly held against her will, why and where the couple might have been going.

Knuck could face charges of kidnapping, domestic battery and drug possession, according to a news release posted by the sheriff's office on Facebook. He was released from jail Saturday on $15,000 bond.

Watch WKMG-TV's report about the incident:

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WKMG went to Knuck's residence in Deltona where a woman who wished to remain anonymous said Knuck doesn't have a criminal history and isn't violent.

"He'll lose his temper. You know all people do, but to be violent, he's never been violent with me," the woman told the news station.