ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A woman was able to escape after being tied up and beaten in the woods for two days, according to Gary Peterson, Executive Director of Home Again St. Johns, a homeless outreach facility.
The woman came into the facility at 1850 State Road 207 on Thursday after saying she had been tied her up in the woods and beaten, Peterson told Action News Jax off camera.
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Peterson said the woman is homeless and has been helped by Home Again St. Johns in the past.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue confirms they responded to Home Again St. Johns at 2:15 p.m. and took the woman to Flagler Hospital, where she is stable.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office confirms it is investigating a domestic incident, but would not elaborate further except to say that no one is in custody in the case at this time.
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Action News Jax has learned there are 1,161 homeless in St. Johns County: 963 of them live outside of shelters and some in wooded areas similar to where Thursday's crime may have happened.
"It's a huge problem for St. Johns County but that number is actually down 20 percent from the previous year, so we are making headway," said Debbie Redding, executive director of the St. Johns County Homeless Coalition.