Warning: The videos in this article contain footage that may be difficult for some viewers to watch.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Wichita police are searching for a woman they say was taken by force — an incident caught on camera and shared thousands of times.
At a press conference on Tuesday, officials with the Wichita Police Department said they had yet to identify the woman in the footage, which was captured around 2 a.m. on Sunday in the northeast part of the city, near 14th Street and North Volutsia.
Police also said CrimeStoppers would be offered a $2,000 reward for information which leads to the identification of the man or woman in the video.
“Our top priority remains this female’s safety,” Captain Aaron Moses of the WPD said.
In the video, which was captured by a doorbell camera and released by the Wichita Police Department, the woman is heard letting out a scream as a man grabs her from behind and marches her back toward the street.
Nexstar’s KSN spoke to the homeowner who caught the entire terrifying situation on camera. She said she didn’t want her interview to be filmed, but told KSN she’s shaken up by what she saw.
She also told KSN she does not know who the woman in the video is, or why she came to her home.
Neighbors who talked to KSN said the woman’s blood-curdling scream has the whole community on edge.
“The community, we’re all concerned,” said neighbor Shawntrice Beard. “I stay really close. I stay right down the street, I’ve been staying here for approximately over a year now, and like I said, it’s alarming to see this transpire and take place definitely in our community. Things do happen, but not like this.”
Beard lives doors away from where the video was taken. She drove by, wanting to know more about what happened.
“I think we need the community to be more actively involved with what’s going on. Because like I said, that’s somebody’s mom, somebody’s sister, somebody’s grandchild,” she said.
“I know that if it happened to me, I would want the community actively trying to pursue and see what’s going on,” beard continued. “I don’t want it to be something unnoticed or just go unscathed without being investigated fully,” she said.
“We’re a community and we have to stick together,” she said.
Police are asking anyone who might recognize the woman or the man to contact 911. Information can also be provided to Wichita Police Department detectives at 316-268-4407.
