Published January 13, 2015
Authorities held out hope Saturday that they could find a clerk who was abducted at gunpoint in a crime captured by the security cameras in a rural grocery store, a sheriff said. Officials were questioning a suspect.
Archer County Sheriff Ed Daniels said law enforcers were searching for Mindy Daffern, 46, a day after her abduction.
"We're still hoping we can find her alive," Daniels said.
About 20 investigators focused their search in an area of farmland and mesquite brush about 10 miles south of Scotland, in north Texas. The search included bloodhounds, a helicopter and officers on horseback, Daniels said.
Earlier Saturday, officials found a black sport-utility vehicle parked outside a motel in Bowie, about 40 miles east of where Daffern was taken. The SUV matched the description of the vehicle used in the abduction, Daniels said.
The suspect, whom Daniels said authorities had not identified, will face charges of armed robbery and kidnapping. Additional charges will depend on what the outcome of the search for Daffern.
Video shows a man casually walking into the store and handing Daffern a cup. She disappears from behind the counter for a moment. When she returns, the man pulls a handgun and points it at her face.
A clip from a different camera shows the gunman walking her out of the store as he sips from the cup. Daffern continues to keep her hands up and appears to plead with the man. A third clip taken outsides shows the SUV leaving the empty parking lot.
The abduction occurred about 3 p.m. Friday at the small, brick store. A 911 call alerted authorities.
Daniels said he is friends with Daffern, a mother and grandmother in a tight-knit family. He is "very worried" about her safety, she said.
"She is very family-oriented," Daniels said. "She has always got her grandkids with her. The whole family is just real close."
Scotland, which has less than 500 residents, is about 90 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/suspect-questioned-in-abduction-of-texas-clerk-caught-on-security-cameras