KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (NBC) – Federal authorities are continuing to investigate an Oregon man who they say kidnapped a woman while posing as a police officer and then held her captive in a makeshift cell at his home.
Incredibly she managed to escape and alert police, who eventually tracked him down.
Thursday morning, the FBI is making a nationwide appeal for help identifying any potential victims of 29-year-old suspect Negasi Zuberi.
Stephanie Shark, assistant special agent in charge at the Portland FBI field office, said, “The disturbing evidence uncovered to date points to an individual’s ongoing escalating pattern of violence targeting women.”
On Wednesday, authorities released chilling photos of a makeshift cell they say Zuberi used to shackle a woman he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted.
Authorities said Zuberi’s alleged victim escaped hours after being locked in the cinderblock cell by punching her way through this metal screen door leaving her hands bloodied.
Klamath Falls Police Department Captain Rob Reynolds said, “Then she ran out into public, flagged down the first vehicle she could find. She knew something bad was going to happen to her.”
According to the criminal complaint, Zuberi kidnapped the woman in mid-July after hiring her as a prostitute in Seattle.
The court documents say he claimed to be an undercover police officer, even showing her a “badge” and placing her in handcuffs and “leg irons” before driving her 450 miles to his residence in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
That’s where the FBI says it recovered a series of chilling notes, including one called “operation takeover” that had bullet points including “leave phone at home” and “make sure they don’t have a bunch of people in their life. You don’t want any type of investigation.”
A day after the kidnapping and the victim’s escape, Zuberi was arrested in Reno, Nevada.
The investigation now spans at least 12 states where authorities say Zuberi has previously lived using different aliases.
Special Agent Shark said, “I want to thank the brave women who fought for their lives. Now it is our turn to take their burden and fight for them.”
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