Martin Jonassen, 55, allegedly kidnapped his daughter from her Missouri home then kept her tied up in a northwest Indiana motel room. (Credit: Portage Police)
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PORTAGE, Ind. (CBS) — Prosecutors in Northwest Indiana say it will be some time before they get to the bottom of a bizarre crime yesterday involving a father and daughter.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the case started with a report that a naked woman was running down U.S. 20 near Indiana Highway 249 in Portage, Ind.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports
She ran into a liquor store and begged the clerk for help, saying she had been assaulted in a nearby motel.
Just then, a man came in and said he was her father, and that she was on drugs.
He dragged the woman to his car, but police blocked his exit.
In the car, police found the 21-year-old woman naked and bruised, with rope on her ankles.
Police say the man, identified as Martin Jonassen, 55, had kidnapped his daughter from Missouri, and they spent the weekend on the road. Then she escaped from the motel on Monday.
Jonassen was booked into the Porter County Jail on charges of criminal confinement and battery, while his daughter was hospitalized and a test was done to determine if there was a sexual assault.
A source says Jonassen has been uncooperative, so the motive is unknown, but more charges are expected.
