Abused woman rescued after posting Facebook plea

by Steven Mostyn - Dec 27 2011, 12:42

A quick-thinking woman and her disabled son, who were held captive in a Utah residence for five days, have been rescued by authorities after a desperate cry for help was posted to Facebook.

“Hello… is anyone out there?” began the post, which went live on Saturday. “I am having a serious problem and me and (my son) will be dead by morning.”

Concerned Facebook friends connected to the distraught mother quickly alerted local law enforcement officers, pointing them in the direction of 33-year-old Troy Critchfield.

Upon arriving at Mr. Critchfield’s residence, officers were initially refused entry but were eventually allowed inside to talk with the woman—who was reportedly sporting obvious facial bruising.

Following the police intervention, the unnamed woman said she had been subjected to choking, sexual assault, and that her mobile phone had been destroyed to prevent any calls for help.

After being captive for around five days, she finally managed to smuggle a notebook computer into a wardrobe, where she successfully dispatched her Facebook alert.

Mr. Critchfield was subsequently arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where he now faces a host of charges including aggravated kidnapping, forcible sodomy, aggravated assault, child abuse and cruelty to animals.  

This latest piece of news shows Facebook in a (slightly) better light. Not least because of last week’s widely reported prank involving a father who bound his daughter in gaffer tape and posted ‘hostage style’ photos of her onto the network.

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