Apparent Kidnapping Is Caught on Videotape

A security videotape showing a man apparently kidnapping a woman in front of a large Hollywood apartment complex was released by police Thursday as investigators tried to determine whether a crime had been committed.

No one has reported an abduction or any other incident in the area involving people matching the man and woman on the tape, and the two remain unidentified, Los Angeles police said.

The footage, recorded May 26, shows a man grabbing a woman leaving the Chateau Apartments about 7:55 a.m. and knocking her to the ground. They struggle before the man grabs her arm and leg, “picks her up like a bag of potatoes” and carries her away as she continues to resist, Det. Wendi Berndt said.

According to witnesses, the woman put up a fight as the man forced her into a car, but he overpowered her and drove away, Berndt said. Police said witnesses may have heard a child crying in the car.

“He took her against her will, and the video vividly shows that,” the detective said.

Security guards at the apartments, in the 1400 block of North Alta Vista Boulevard, reviewed the tape over the weekend, and police received the footage Tuesday. The apartments’ owners and security guards were unable to identify the apparent suspect or victim, Berndt said.

“We’re just asking anybody that knows them to come forward, or for them to come forward and tell us if they’re OK,” she said.

The man is white and about 30 to 35 years old. The woman is white and about 30 years old with light, shoulder-length hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (877) LAWFULL or detectives at (213) 972-2911.