Woman beaten in attempted kidnapping in Lake City while meeting with person from social media

LAKE CITY, Fla. — A woman was beaten and nearly kidnapped Saturday in Lake City while she met with a person she had previously spoken to over social media, according to police.

Officers with the Lake City Police Department were called out to SE Inglewood Avenue at 3:20 p.m. to help a person with serious injuries. When officers arrived, they found the woman with multiple cuts and scrapes on her lower body from being dragged on the road.

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According to police, the woman had recently begun talking with a person on social media and invited that person over to her home to hang out.

The person drove up to the home with three other people inside their vehicle.

As the woman approached the vehicle’s back seat, where the person she invited was sitting, LCPD said she was grabbed by her arm and partially pulled into the window.

While she was being pulled in and held, officers said another passenger began punching her in the head, face and chest, and police said the driver began to speed away, causing the woman to be dragged on the road for half a city block.

Police said she was able to break free and fell from the moving vehicle. She was taken to a hospital by medical personnel for further treatment.

There were witnesses to the incident, according to police.

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Anyone who has any information about the attempted kidnapping is asked to call Investigator Rose with the LCPD at (386) 752-4343.

To report information anonymously, call the LCPD TIPS line at 386-719-2068 or Crime Stoppers of Columbia County at 386-754-7099.

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