Girl, 17, Safe After Abductor Kills Himself
- Share via
A kidnapped teenage girl was safe after the man who abducted her shot and killed himself in the back seat of her car, police said.
Brandi Balbontin, 17, the daughter of a deputy sheriff, was talking with a friend in a park late Wednesday when a man with a gun forced her to drive away with him in her car, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
A deputy spotted her car at dawn and followed it. Balbontin pulled into the driveway of a home and the man killed himself in the back seat, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said the teenager did not appear to be injured.
They identified the abductor as Steven Williams, 21, of the Tampa suburb of Lutz. Deputies said there was no connection between him and the girl’s father.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.