A woman was kidnapped from her home on Harrisburg Road in Milledgeville around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
That's according to Sheriff Bill Massee with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. Massee says a man identified as Willie Wilkerson hit the woman, Ruby Smith, and put her in the trunk of his car.
While Wilkerson was traveling down the bypass between Baldwin County and Wilkinson County, Smith managed to force the lock in the trunk open a bit. A Wilkinson County deputy was behind the car when it happened and turned on his blue lights. Wilkerson escaped, but Smith is safe.
Wilkerson is reported to have outstanding warrants for kidnapping and possibly for robbery. Massee said Smith knew the man because he previously worked for the county in Public Works and he had done work on her driveway. She hired him to do some more work, and that’s when he came and kidnapped her. He also stole her pocket book with money in it, Massee said.
Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Milledgeville, and the City of Irwinton helped in the search and investigation. Wilkinson County brought in bloodhounds to search.
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UPDATE, 6:55 p.m.:
Ruby Smith says she first met Willie Wilkerson about 5 years ago when she got her driveway fixed by the county. She would see him around town from time to time after that.
Smith says she saw Wilkerson in Walmart Wednesday and that he had retired from county work and did metal roofing now. She needed some work done on her roof and Wilkerson agreed to come by and fix it around 1:30 p.m. Smith says after Wilkerson fixed her ceiling, they were standing by his vehicle when he bent her over, hit her, and then put her in the trunk.
Smith says she called out to God for help and then began pulling things loose in the trunk. She eventually got the trunk to open and a deputy saw her struggling. Smith said he flipped on his blue lights and Wilkerson’s car went down an embankment, giving her a chance to escape.