South Carolina truck driver captures dramatic escape of woman allegedly kidnapped by man posing as a cop

An alleged South Carolina kidnapping plot was foiled by a truck driver who happened to be at the right place at the right time. Anthony J. Moore, 53, was driving a truck along a route in Aiken County, about 20 miles from the Georgia border, when his dashboard camera captured what authorities say was an attempted kidnapping.

According to NBC Miami, Moore said in an interview, “I just see it as a divine assignment from God, because had I not been there with the dashcam … they probably wouldn’t have caught the footage that needed to be caught.” He continued, “It was another assignment from God, a special assignment from God. A life needed to be saved.”

The dashcam footage shows a woman running in front of Moore’s truck. The video has no audio, making it difficult to know exactly what was being said at the scene. After she passed the truck, a man in a Cadillac who had been parked on the opposite side of the road suddenly swerved in front of Moore’s vehicle and drove away.

The incident was documented by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Department. According to the report, the woman had been out for a walk when a man driving a green Cadillac approached her from behind and claimed to be a police officer. The woman told investigators that the man took her Social Security card and phone before allegedly placing her in handcuffs and locking her in the back seat of his car.

On June 4, authorities announced the arrest of Jonathan Willard, 39, of New Ellenton in connection with the alleged kidnapping. Willard is being held at the Aiken County Detention Center and faces charges of kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

The woman later described how she managed to escape. While handcuffed in the back seat, she initially tried to open the rear doors but found them locked.

Fortunately, she told investigators that Willard eventually pulled over near a gated property and left the vehicle. As he searched through the trunk, the woman seized the opportunity to climb over the seats into the front passenger area, open the door, and run.

It was at that moment that Moore saw her while driving down the road. Moore said there was a longer interaction than what was visible in the publicly released footage. The truck driver recalled, “I let my window down and she said, ‘Please help me. He’s trying to kidnap me.’” Moore added that when the woman approached him, Willard was not far behind and appeared to be displaying what looked like a police badge while claiming to be a law enforcement officer.

Talk about a GUARDIAN ANGEL – you've GOT to see this.

A truck driver was put in the right place at the right time by God to save a kidnapped woman, he says.

Anthony Moore was driving his truck in Aiken County, South Carolina – and that's when he saw a handcuffed woman running… pic.twitter.com/C0TbNPDjKt

— Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr) June 5, 2026

Moore, who is also a community pastor with Amazing Grace Ministries in Denmark, South Carolina, said he was relieved when he learned that Willard had been arrested. He told reporters, “When I learned that he was caught the next day, I was relieved that he didn’t get away,” before adding that his concern was that the suspect might have gone on “to try that again someplace else.”