Multiple agencies arrested a Scottsdale man accused of kidnapping a woman who was reportedly forced into a vehicle south of Flagstaff along Interstate 17 on Tuesday afternoon.
At 11:57 a.m., deputies received a call from the Mustang Gas Station at Clint's Well along Highway 87, reporting a woman strapped or tied to the front passenger seat in a white colored, four door Jeep wrangler with a black top. Brandon Thomas Stewart of Scottsdale, Ariz. was eventually captured and arrested for unlawful imprisonment in Navajo County.
The reporting party followed the suspect vehicle south along Highway 87 from Clint's Well until the suspect turned off onto Forest Service Road 141 east. The caller reported the vehicle information to the 911 dispatch center, which returned Stewart's information.
Multiple agencies worked on tracking down the case, including the Coconino and Navajo County Sheriff's Offices and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). Based on cell phone tracking data, the helicopter began searching the area east of Highway 87 and north of Forest Service road 300.
The suspect's vehicle was located, and a high-risk traffic stop was conducted by DPS and Navajo County Sheriff's Office at milepost 283 on Interstate 40.
Stewart was taken into custody without incident, and the woman was located uninjured. Stewart was booked in Navajo County jail for unlawful imprisonment.
