PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Cries for help on the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Oregon on Friday night led a police officer to a bloodied woman with her hands tied behind her back.
The incident unfolded around 11 p.m., the Newport Police Department said in a release. The officer was in the area to deal with construction materials in the roadway when he heard the woman yelling. She was found with blood on her face and head, with her hands reportedly “hogtied” behind her with rope and shoelaces.
The woman was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Earlier in the night, police said the woman and a man identified as Thomas Brannies were walking together off the main path in Yaquina Bay State Park when she was struck in the head. She said she was told the assault would stop if she didn’t fight back.
After she was tied up and wounded, police said Brannies took all of her belongings and fled the area, leaving her there. She later managed to free her feet and get back on the Yaquina Bay Bridge where the officer found her, authorities said.
Shortly after 3 a.m., Brannies’ car was spotted at a grocery store, officials said. The woman’s stolen items were found in his car.
Brannies, 34, was arrested and booked at the Lincoln County Jail on five separate charges: 2nd-degree kidnapping, 2nd-degree assault, 2nd-degree theft, unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor warrant.
Authorities also said Brannies had a previous outstanding warrant on an assault charge. A records search found Brannies has a long criminal record for a variety of charges dating back to 2009.
