RIVERSIDE, Calif., March 24 (UPI) -- Southern California authorities arrested a kidnapping suspect who allegedly held his victim in a coffin-like crate inside a van with a hood over her head.
Police in Riverside County are releasing few details about the kidnapping of the 57-year-old Riverside woman, who was taken from her home after being incapacitated with a stun gun.
Police Detective Rick Cobb said at a news conference Friday that Mark Herbert Warren, who had apparently planned the crime for months, had been arrested after his white van was spotted by a neighbor and later located by authorities.
The crate included a mattress, fans and was insulated in an effort to sound proof it, the Los Angeles Times said Saturday.
Warren reportedly planned to kidnap some 15 other Southern California couples, "each time kidnapping someone richer and escalating his ransom demands," said Riverside Police spokesman Steven Frasher.
The Riverside woman suffered only minor injuries from her ordeal and was released from the hospital.
"In my 17 years on the job, I've never seen something this bone-chilling," Cobb told the Times.
