Yesterday morning, authorities found a female Bowling Green State University student abducted in Athens late Sunday night from Congress Street, and two men are now in custody for her kidnapping.
At 11 p.m. Sunday night, Kristin Wiseler, 22, was abducted from near 85 N. Congress. She was walking north on Congress Street on her way to meet her friend at the intersection of Congress and Carpenter.
While walking, Wiseler fell, and a car driving the wrong way on Congress stopped. Two males grabbed her and threw her in the trunk, Wiseler's friend, who witnessed the incident, reported to the police.
The vehicle was an older white or light-colored Buick-type car with a vinyl top. Officers from Ohio University Police Department, Athens Police Department and the Athens County Sheriff's Office checked the area, and information about the abduction was issued to other agencies in Southeast Ohio.
At 4:06 a.m. yesterday, Athens Deputy Sheriff Jim Heater, found a car matching that description on 550, east of Athens. He located Wiseler and two men.
Robert Norris, 36, of Zanesville and Scott Stevens, 36, of Columbus, were taken into custody and charged with kidnapping and robbery. Norris had an outstanding warrant from Muskingum County for failure to appear. Both were transported to the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail.
Wiseler was reunited with her parents, who had driven from the Cleveland area when informed of her abduction. She is a student at Bowling Green University who was in town to see her boyfriend.
When asked about the rise in violent crime in Athens, Heater said, "For a college town and all the things that can happen in a college town, Athens was a safe town. Now it's taking a turn for the worse. I don't know if it's a cultural thing or heavier drugs or something else."
Other police in the area have also noted the rise in crime. "Most people think of Athens as a small bedroom community where you can sleep with the door open, but you can't," Ohio University communication officer Dee Gray said. "Well, you shouldn't. We don't recommend it."
This past weekend was Dads' weekend at Ohio University. Last year's Dads' weekend was marked by violent crime, including a quadruple stabbing at the Crystal, 34 N. Court St., and gunshots fired outside of Evolution dance club, 19 S. Court St.
"The stats we are seeing show [violent crime] leveling off," Athens Police Lt. Jeff McCall said. "Last year, we had a dramatic increase over Winter Quarter, but we are hopeful it will decrease."