How FBI agents rescued a kidnapped woman from the back of a semi-truck in South Carolina
Update (4-3-20): According to paperwork from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the criminal charges against Brian Summerson were dismissed March 17.
Original: Florence County Sheriff’s Office deputies approached the parked, black semi-truck at the center of a national FBI investigation. The curtains were pulled, preventing views of the inside.
The truck and its driver were wanted in connection to a kidnapping investigation. The victim was reportedly held for a ransom, the family only seeing bruised images of her face in calls demanding payment.
Deputies got the driver to step out of the vehicle, which is when they say they heard pleas for help.
A woman screamed from inside that she had been kidnapped. A days-old case ended when police rescued the victim relatively unharmed.
The scene seems to fit a Hollywood movie more so than small-town South Carolina. But, it’s how a kidnapping case in Tennessee ended in the Pee Dee region last week. The driver, identified as Brian Summerson, faces federal charges of kidnapping and demanding ransom.
The FBI started a kidnapping investigation on Jan. 28 when the victim’s mother told agents at a Memphis, Tennessee field office about the case.
The investigation
In late 2019, the daughter left Memphis to go to Georgia with her boyfriend. Two months later, the mom got a video phone call from her daughter, who claimed she was kidnapped.
The daughter had bruises and other injuries to her face. The victim said her boyfriend owed money, and someone had to pay a ransom for her release. If not, she would be killed.
An FBI investigator detailed the conversations and the case in an arrest affidavit filed in federal court.
The mom had to pay a $2,000 ransom through the Cash App screen name, “$leemoney123456,” an arrest affidavit says.
As agents spoke to the mom, she received more calls demanding she pay the ransom. At one point, the kidnapper said he was holding the victim because her boyfriend owed money to his boss, authorities said.
If the mother gave the money, the daughter would be dropped off at a bus station, the captor said, according to the affidavit.
After initially saying he had the money, the mom could only send $100 through the app. The kidnapper responded, “you lied to me three times. If you lie again, there will consequences,” the affidavit states.
“[The Mom] asked [the kidnapper] something along the lines of ‘how much more money do I need to send for you to let my daughter out of your truck,” investigators detailed in the affidavit. The kidnapper responded, “$900. If you lie to me again, it goes up to $2,000.”
The victim’s mom also pleaded that her daughter remained unharmed. The captor described her injuries as a “love tap,” authorities say.
The captor set a 7:19 p.m. eastern time for the ransom. There was no more communication between the mom, the victim and the suspect after that time.
Investigators traced the phone behind the Cash App account to an 843 area code - which covers eastern South Carolina. Agents also tracked the phone’s location to Florence, South Carolina.
FBI officials also spoke to the victim’s boyfriend, who said a black semi-truck picked up his girlfriend the night she was kidnapped.
Investigators matched the described vehicle to one that had a logo for Summerson Transport from Dillion, South Carolina. FBI agents asked Florence deputies to watch for the truck. They found it parked in an unnamed business’ parking lot.
As the victim screamed for help from the back, Summerson got into a scuffle with deputies, the affidavit says. They subdued him and arrested him.
The victim had facial injuries and went to the hospital for evaluation.
Summerson is scheduled to appear in Florence federal court on Thursday. He faces life in prison if convicted.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
