Kidnapped Woman Found by People Looking for a Christmas Tree

Associated Press
Updated
She sought shelter in a burned-out tree and drank water from a mud puddle

(REDDING, Calif.) — Police in Northern California say people looking for a Christmas tree found a partially clothed woman who had been kidnapped and abandoned in a rural area.

Redding Police Capt. Eric Wallace says the group found the 25-year-old woman in a wooded area of Shasta County on Monday. He says the woman sought shelter in a burned-out tree, drank water from a mud puddle and was exposed to extremely cold temperatures, rain and snow.

The woman told police she was kidnapped a day earlier by two acquaintances who believed she had stolen drugs.

Wallace says the woman also told investigators she was beaten and the pair forced her to undress and left her with only a pair of shorts.

Police arrested 44-year-old Fred Sanderson and are searching for Johanna Knighten.