Police find Smyrna woman in Iowa, man charged with kidnapping

SMYRNA – A Smyrna woman who was reported missing by her family was found by police in Iowa Saturday. Police also charged a man with felony kidnapping.

James S. Smith, 32, of Mexico, New York was placed on just over $1 million bail after he allegedly kidnapped the woman from a truck-stop in Pennsylvania in July.

Smith was charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree harassment, domestic assault with a weapon, and obstruction of emergency communication. Police said he kidnapped a Smyrna woman and held her against her will in his truck.

He is being held at the Adair County Jail in Iowa on a bond of just over $1 million. Law enforcement officials said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

According to the Stuart Police Department, at about 12:44 p.m. on Saturday the Guthrie County 911 center dispatched Stuart Officers to the Casey’s Store located at 708 S. Division Street in Stuart, after receiving an emergency call.

Police said upon arrival Stuart Officers made contact with the 911 caller, Amber Garrison of Smyrna, and Garrison reported to officers that she had been kidnapped from a truck-stop in Pennsylvania in mid-July.

Police reported that Garrison said she had been assaulted on several occasions and was forced to remain with the driver of the truck as he traveled through multiple states in his vehicle.

Garrison said she had called 911 several times earlier on Saturday from the cab of the semi as it was parked in a parking lot in Stuart.

According to the Adair County Dispatch Center, several 911 calls were received on Saturday starting at approximately 9:50 a.m. that are believed to have been from Garrison.

The dispatch center said the caller did not speak directly to the dispatcher and did not provide a location, and a Adair County Deputy responded to the area of the calls but was unable to locate the exact location and source of the 911 calls.

Stuart Officers had not been notified of these initial calls and were unaware of the calls until they were dispatched to Garrison’s 911 call from inside the Casey’s Store at approximately 12:44 p.m.

According to New York State Public Information Officer Aga Dembinska, Garrison had been reported missing to the New York State Police by her mother in early August.

“On August 17th, the victim mentioned to her Mom that her car was at a McDonalds in P.A.” said Dembinska. "The victim's mother said prior to that she hadn’t heard from her daughter since July 19th, and couldn’t get her location.”

She said on August 30th, it was reported that the victim's mother spoke to her over Facebook, and on August 31, it was reported that the victim had facetimed with her mother.

“We had an officer from the Steward police department make contact with Amber," said Dembinska. “If there was an assault that occurred, it appears that it was out of our jurisdiction, but until we talk with the victim we won't know for sure."

The Stuart Police Department reported that Garrison had several injuries and was transported to the Adair County Hospital for treatment.

This is an open and ongoing investigation and involves several alleged crimes in multiple states.

Deputies from the Adair and Guthrie County Sheriff’s Offices and Officers from the Iowa Department of Transportation assisted Stuart Police during the initial investigation.

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