GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. — Authorities in New Jersey say they’re searching for a group of people who allegedly ran out on a bill at a diner and abducted a waitress who attempted to stop them.
The Washington Township Police Department said in a Facebook post on Sunday that five individuals finished a meal at Nifty Fifties and attempted to leave without paying at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday.
Police say a waitress at the restaurant, which is southeast of Philadelphia, tried to stop the customers before she was taken into their white Dodge Durango and the suspects drove away with her in the vehicle.
“She was then assaulted and later left on the side of the road on State Highway 42,” police said in a press release with photos of the suspects.
WCAU and WPVI both report that the waitress then made her way back to the diner and called 911 to report what happened. Police told the local TV news stations that the woman was sent to the hospital and may have suffered a concussion.
The chief of the police department, Patrick Gurcsik, described the incident to WCAU as an abduction, robbery, and potential kidnapping.
Police told WCAU and WPVI that the waitress was a 20-year-old woman and the bill that the customers walked out on was for about $70.
Police are asking for the public to help identify the suspects in the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. M. Longfellow at 856-589-0330 ext. 1160 or at mdlongfellow@pd.twp.washington.nj.us.