Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Note of Abduction from Missing Woman

                                                 LaShonda Maria Cortez missing

A woman entered into a Wendy's and asked the cashier for a piece of paper and wrote a note.

The note is quoted as:


"I need help. I’m being held against my will,"

This was handwritten and left by LaShonda Cortez, who has since gone missing. 

"I need help" is stated before stating that she was being held against her will.   She was then observed freely leaving with a man in a pick up truck.  We always note order in seeking to learn priority.  

Police have interviewed the man she left Wendy's with, and report him to be cooperating and not knowing why she would make the claim. 






20 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds like exactly what i'd expect a woman under duress to write

Anonymous said...

Under normal circumstances, or under duress, this is not enough info to come to a logical conclusion; either concerning the note or the man she was seen leaving with.

Who was the man? Where did he know her from? Where did he pick her up and where did he drop her off?

If she actually was being held against her will, she may not have felt that she had time to write any more than she wrote in the note; therefore, more info is needed to be able to arrive at any any kind of reasonable analysis.

However, I suspect that the note is fake inasmuch as she was inside a public place, her so-called abductor was not standing at hand, she had time to ask for the paper and write the brief note, so she had time to scream for help and the presence of mind not to get back into the truck with the man unless he was holding a gun on her, which the article does not state that he was.

Is this a test article or did this abduction actually occur as stated?

Apple said...

This is interesting, i am trying to put myself in that situation to establish the "expected". I think i would say, "help me" or "help" or "call 911" as my first request. But by reading your phrasing, Peter, it sounds like something is unexpected in her note.

Anonymous said...

Apple, the unexpected is that not only did she not request help or for someone to call 911, but she walked out and got back into the truck willingly with the man. Would you do that? I certainly wouldn't. I would take what would likely be my only chance for help and run screaming for help. NO WAY would I go back outside with my abductor!

Assuming she was not brain dead, and since she didn't, I consider this to be a fake cry for help; either that or this is a test article posted by Peter. Unless more info surfaces, I can't see it any other way so far. (Re my post at 7:02 a.m.)

Apple said...

Thank you, anon. I was wondering why Peter mentioned order in her written letter. Regarding behavior, that gets tricky. The Amy Lord murder trial is set to begin. Her murderer drove her to multiple ATM machines. She returned to the car of her abductor after withdrawing money. Maybe a threat to her family?

Unknown said...

If you're desperate enough to leave a note like this, it would seem that you would take the opportunity of being in a public place, away from your captor, to save yourself. Why not go into the restroom, and lock the door? Why not walk out one of the other exits, and run? Why not ask the cashier to lock the doors, and call the police? This type of note does little good once you are back under the power of the abductor.

As for the language of the note, she begins with "I", and states her need for help, and the reason why. However, she doesn't say what specific help she needs, and the note is longer than I would expect. I would expect something more direct, and even rude considering the gravity of the situation.

I think I would probably say: Call 911, kidnapped

This would convey the needed action, and what to report, with far fewer words.

What a weird case!

Unknown said...

Hi Apple,

Yeah, if someone was threatening my family, all bets are off, and I would definitely comply with whatever they said. What a terrible thought.

Apple said...

It's true, Jen. Remember the horrible fate of the Petit family in CT? The mom was driven to her bank where she went in alone and gave a note to the bank teller. Then went back with her captor and was murdered with the rest of her family. I am interested in this note and her words.

Apple said...

Mrs. Petit did not leave a note, but informed the teller. I am interested in the SA of this note.

John Mc Gowan said...

Wendy's "captive" located, police say she's in good health

ATLANTA -- LaShonda Cortez, the woman who police say left a note at an Atlanta Wendy's restaurant claiming to be held captive, has been located by police, 48 Hours' Crimesider has learned.

"We have located the girl and she is in good health," said Atlanta police spokesperson Officer Ralph Woolfork. "We are speaking to her now to try to get more information."

Investigators said Cortez walked into the Wendy's at about 11:40 a.m. Monday, asked for a piece of blank paper and wrote that she was being held against her will. Cortez left the restaurant voluntarily and could be seen leaving with a man in a pickup truck, according to police.

Atlanta Police Captain Michael O'Connor said Tuesday that they tracked down and questioned the man Cortez left with, reports CBS affiliate WGCL.

The man, whose identity has not been released by police, said he's known Cortez for about a month and there were no issues between them, according to O'Connor.

The man told police he dropped Cortez off later on Monday in the North Highland area of Atlanta, and hasn't seen her since.

O'Connor added that police have spoken to the man several times and he has "been completely cooperative."

The man told police he didn't know about a note, and didn't feel like Cortez was in distress at any time, according to O'Connor.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-wendys-captive-located-police-say-she-is-in-good-health/

C5H11ONO said...

"We have located the girl".--Atlanta police spokesperson. She looks older than me! I guess we need to get into that one's personal subjective dictionary. What was that person thinking!

Wendy said...

Peter, is there a copy of the note online somewhere? I'd be curious to see how she wrote the note- was it legible, scribbled, neat?

"I need help. I’m being held against my will"

It sounds more like a general statement, not like she's in fear. She uses proper English, period at the end of the sentence, and she uses the word "I." There is nothing mentioned about him- why he is holding her against her will or why she needs help.

If it were me, they'd know by the look on my face. My note would be scribbled and illegible telling them to call police. If I didn't have to leave (no hostages) I'd have jumped over the counter screaming to call the police instead of writing a note. This doesn't sound like someone being held against her will. It would be interesting to read the guy's exact statement.

"Regarding the Petit family, one convict was at the home with her daughters and the other one took her to the bank. She had no choice but to cooperate with them.

Lemon said...

She stated "I need help..." A statement. But did she ask for help? I would think the expected would be "Call 911!" "Call police!" or even "Help me!" something akin to Jen Ow's comment above.
"I need help" seems very soft, if indeed she was being "...held against my will".

Unknown said...

Oh yes, the Petit case breaks my heart. Such cruelty, and violence even after they got what they wanted. Evil.

Anonymous said...

For years I have had a recurring nightmare where I have been buried alive.
It is equally horrifying now as it was the first time. Sometimes I am woken up by
my own screaming: Help! Help me! I've been buried alive.

Fifteen years I've had this dream. Never once have I screamed, I need help. I'm being
boxed up against my will.

Anonymous said...

It is neither a demand nor a request. It is a statement lacking the expected
urgency.
As in, good morning and welcome to McDonalds. How are you today?
Oh, the usual, you know, need help. Being held against my will, etcetera.

But what really gets me is... she was supposedly afraid of being detected
asking for help so.. she did the much less suspicious thing of asking
a fast food worker for paper and then writing a note?
Whuh?
Why not use that time to say...help?
Wouldnt you be MUCH less likely to be spotted by your captor asking for paper
and then writing a note than saying...I would lije a burger and a side
Of 911?

Anonymous said...

It was bullsh*t.
http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/virginia-highland/2015/05/26/wendys-note-kidnapping/27976923/

Anonymous said...

Score one for me! I thought it was BS from the beginning. ta da....

Dream World said...

Anonymous said...

For years I have had a recurring nightmare where I have been buried alive.
It is equally horrifying now as it was the first time. Sometimes I am woken up by
my own screaming: Help! Help me! I've been buried alive.

Fifteen years I've had this dream. Never once have I screamed, I need help. I'm being
boxed up against my will.
May 29, 2015 at 2:02 AM

^^^
I'm sorry to inform you of this, but the mind can play tricks on you in order to cope with trauma. You really are buried alive and no one is coming to help you, but your mind has played out that you have had a life and when your "dream" clashes with your conscious minds reality, that is when you think you are having a nightmare and you think you wake up and go on living your "dream".

Anonymous said...

To Dream World; You may have missed the boat in your (mis)interpretation of Anon's recurring nightmare. Attempting to use psychology, you are second guessing a dream state that you are unable to do with any certainty.

I wouldn't be altogether sure that something more traumatic may not lie ahead for Anon. I think that one day she will discover the realization of her nightmare and it will fall into place; maybe not exactly like the dream but she will know.

All of my life I would dream (infrequently) a terrible nightmare that I was falling or being chased and I would try to scream for someone to help me but could make no sound. There were always people around in my dream and I would try and try to make a voice but couldn't. No one heard me. It was an awful dream. Eventually I would awaken, realizing it was just a dream and would again dismiss it from my mind.

Today I have no voice and cannot speak clearly due to vocal cord cancer and the damaging affects of radiation and laser burn treatments. Don't be so sure that some dreams do not contain a warning that is deeper than some unknowledgeable psycho ramblings.... alrighty?

Even in the Bible there are instances of warnings occurring in dreams and they become very clear.