An armed and dangerous man is on the run after kidnapping his 55-year-old girlfriend who recently sought a restraining order against him.
Joseph Hetzel, 52, kidnapped Virginia Paris in Solvang, California, on Friday as she left her job at a retirement home.
He stole her black 2015 Chrysler 200 and fled the state with her, prompting her family and friends to contact police.
They were not seen or heard from again until Sunday when, at a roadside Starbucks in Goodyear, Arizona, 480 miles away, Paris pleaded for help from other customers.
Hetzel, a golf course mechanic and father-of-three, shoved her back in to their car before she could be saved.They were next seen checking out of the Grand Canyon Inn in Williams, Arizona, on Monday morning before moving on to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Late on Monday night, Paris approached security guards at a hotel in Henderson, 20 miles outside of Las Vegas, and told them she had been kidnapped. She was taken to hospital and has since been reunited with family.
Hetzel, who was arrested in 2005 for plotting to terrorize another ex-girlfriend with explosives and paint bombs, is still on the run.
Joseph Hetzel, 52, kidnapped Virginia Pairs, 55, on Friday in Solvang, California, and went on the run with her for four days. She escaped him on Monday night but he is still on the run
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office has warned the public not to approach him if he is seen but to call 911 straight away.
On Friday, Paris went missing after leaving work at the Solvang Lutheran Home.
Friends say she recently sought a restraining order against her former partner but that it had not been served.
It is not clear how long the pair were together or what the circumstances surrounding their break-up are.
After going missing on Friday, the pair were not seen or heard from again until Sunday when they appeared at the Starbucks in Goodyear, a suburb 20 miles to the east of Phoenix.
On Sunday morning, the pair were seen at this Starbucks in Goodyear, Arizona, where Paris asked another customer for help. Hetzel dragged her back to their car before she could be saved and they sped off
Paris threw her license and registration information out the window of her black 2015 Chrysler 200 as they left the Starbucks parking lot
Witnesses said Paris ordered a coffee at the counter and gave staff her first name. She then went to the bathroom and on her way back, approached another female customer and told her she needed help.
Hetzel saw her attempt to escape and intervened, dragging her out of the store and back in to his car.
Before they sped off, Paris threw her license and registration information out of the window and into the parking lot.
Police found the documents after being called to the scene. The pair are believed to have then moved on to the Grand Canyon Inn in Williams, 200 miles away.
They checked out on Monday morning after spending at least one night there. Hetzel gave his real name at the $90-a-night inn.
On Sunday morning, they were filmed on surveillance footage leaving the Grand Canyon Inn in Williams, Arizona, with Hetzel keeping a firm grip on the woman
Hetzel, who has a history of terrorizing his girlfriends, used his real name at the hotel
The pair left the $90-a-night Grand Canyon Inn in Williams, Arizona, on Monday morning
A map shows how the pair moved from California on September 1 to Arizona and then on to Nevada where the woman escaped on September 5
Surveillance cameras captured him walking her out of the inn and towards their car.
From there, they drove to Las Vegas, 250 miles away.
On Tuesday morning, Paris’s relatives announced that she had been found safe and well and that she had been reunited with her daughter.
Police later revealed that she sought help from security guards at the Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino in Henderson, 20 miles outside of Las Vegas, at 11pm on Monday night.
They told the Las Vegas Review Journal that Paris approached the guards and told them she had been kidnapped.
She was taken to hospital and has since been reunited with her family.
Hetzel is still on the run. In 2005, he spent time in jail after plotting to terrorize another ex-girlfriend in Buellton, California.
Paris, a grandmother who works at a retirement home in California, escaped her abusive ex-partner on Tuesday
The woman’s relatives announced on Facebook that she had been found safe and well
Hetzel, a father-of-three, is still feared to be on the run and police say he is armed and dangerous
He was charged with possession of items used to make explosive devices and using explosive devices with intent to terrorize and felony vandalism.
Police said the offences were directed towards his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Plews.
They accused him of poisoning her dogs, throwing paint-filled balloons at her home and office and throwing rocks at her house and her new boyfriend’s house. The pair shared a child but are not thought to have been married.
At the time, police said their dispute involved who had custody of the child.
Anyone with information of Hetzel’s whereabouts is urged to call the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office on 805-681-4171 or visit its website here.