Kidnapped woman rescued by officer after mouthing 'help me' during traffic stop — leads to arrest of shooting suspect

A South Carolina police officer rescued a woman from a kidnapping and shooting suspect after she mouthed "help me" during a traffic stop, WMBF reported.

In a post on Facebook this week, North Myrtle Beach Police Department commended Officer Wallace for her quick thinking when she noticed a female driver who appeared distressed.

Around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 28, Wallace witnessed a white Jeep run through a red light at an intersection on U.S. Highway 17.

When the officer pulled over the vehicle, she observed a female driver and a male passenger.

According to the police department, the woman silently mouthed "help me" multiple times to the officer while the male passenger was not looking.

The officer promptly reacted by removing the man from the vehicle and placing him in the back of her patrol car.

Wallace then returned to the Jeep to talk to the woman, who "frantically" informed her that the man had recently shot someone and had forced her to be his getaway driver.

The officer put out a "Be On The Lookout" alert for a vehicle involved in the shooting.

The male passenger was later identified as 29-year-old Collins Bates. He was arrested in connection with a shooting that occurred outside the Waterway House, a restaurant along North Kings Highway in the Myrtle Beach area.

Bates is accused of shooting an individual in the stomach and then forcing the woman in the Jeep to drive him away from the scene of the crime.

Authorities recovered an unlawfully carried handgun from underneath the male passenger's seat. Police reported that the gun matched the caliber of the casing found outside the restaurant.

Bates is being held without bond and is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and kidnapping.

"Due to Officer Wallace proactively patrolling the streets of North Myrtle Beach, even to the last 30 minutes of her shift, a suspect in a shooting was arrested and an unlawfully carried pistol was recovered underneath the suspect's seat. Our department and our community is lucky to have Officer Wallace," the police department stated.

Police: Officer’s proactive patrolling leads to shooting, kidnapping arrestyoutu.be

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