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Suspect arrested after student robbed, held captive at knife point

One suspect wanted in connection to a kidnapping and robbery over the weekend is in custody.
Brittany Long

BOWLING GREEN, OH (Toledo News Now) - One suspect wanted in connection to a kidnapping and robbery over the weekend is in custody.

Bowling Green Police say the victim, a 20-year-old University of Toledo foreign exchange student from China, replied to a chat message asking if he would like to go to Cedar Point on the night of Friday, Aug. 17. The following day, he arranged to be picked up somewhere near his home, and got into a blue Oldsmobile convertible with a white female driver.

Police say there were two other people in the car when the victim was picked up. The driver, later identified as Brittany J. Long, of Toledo, then drove to another house in Toledo to pick up another male, police say. From there, Long drove the four passengers to an abandoned home in Bowling Green, where police say the victim was robbed and held captive while someone used his debit card at a nearby business.

"They ended up taking him to an abandoned house, robbed him at knife point, held him there for a short time," said Major Tony Hetrick with Bowling Green Police.

Police say the group then got back into the car and drove to the Econo Lodge in Holland, OH. The captors then attempted to get ransom money from the victim's relatives in China, police say. The ransom attempt didn't work, so around 6 p.m. Saturday, Long drove back to Toledo and dropped off the victim at his apartment, threatening to kill him if he said a word.

The victim also told police that during the ordeal, one of the other females told him she had also been abducted. Police say they are not sure who that female is, or where she may be.

"There was another Asian female inside the vehicle and she spoke to him - as they spoke in Chinese - that she had been abducted on Friday by these people," said Hetrick.

Police are still trying to figure out if there was another victim or if this was just another scheme planned by Long.

According to police, the entire ordeal lasted between six and eight hours and while the Chinese student was threatened, he was never harmed.

Long was arrested around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, on robbery and kidnapping charges. She will be booked into the Wood County Justice Center.

A person claiming to be Long posted on the WTOL 11 Facebook page Tuesday afternoon.

The incident remains under investigation and other suspects remain at large.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Bowling Green Police Division at 419-352-2571 or Crime stoppers at 1-800-54 CRIME. You may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

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