CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Beaten and raped and her cellphone taken away, a woman who was kidnapped in Tennessee was able to finally get access to a phone and send a text message to her sister, giving police an electronic trail to the Louisiana hotel where she was being held.
Lee Meadows, 34, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was arrested Saturday and charged with battery by strangulation, second-degree battery, false imprisonment and forcible rape, multiple news media outlets reported. He is being held at the St. Tammany Parish Jail in Louisiana.
The attacker took the woman's cellphone and other belongings, but when he briefly left the room, the woman got hold of a phone and sent a text to her sister indicating she was being held near New Orleans, according to police in Slidell, Louisiana.
Police said Tennessee authorities were able to trace the text, leading officers to the hotel.
When police reached the hotel, the man refused to answer the door, at which point they forced their way in, said Slidell police Sgt. Daniel M. Seuzeneau.
"When officers gained access to the room, they found the victim badly beaten and in need of medical attention," Seuzeneau said.