CHP VOLUNTEERS HONORED FOR ROLE IN FOILING CRIME TWO HELPED FREE KIDNAPPED WOMAN.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Two California Highway Patrol senior volunteers were praised Friday for helping locate a kidnapped woman and her abductor at a Lake Hughes home.

Dick Gayer and Al Mejia received the Commander's Commendation for spotting the abductor's truck while on a routine patrol and alerting CHP officers, who surrounded the home, freed the woman and arrested her ex-boyfriend.

``I think it's just a credit to the whole program, not just individuals,'' Gayer said. ``These are the kind of things that make the whole thing worthwhile, helping people.''

``This is an example of how worthwhile our community program is,'' said Chief Mike Brown, who heads the CHP's Southern Division. ``The woman was found safe, and her abductor was apprehended thanks to the efforts of these men.''

Gayer and Mejia were on routine patrol Oct. 21 when they heard a CHP radio broadcast that a woman had been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend.

The CHP dispatcher said the woman called 911 from a cell phone from the truck the man was driving, and the dispatcher heard the ex-boyfriend threatening to cut the woman's throat, officials said.

CHP officers in helicopters and patrol cars, as well as U.S. Forest Service personnel, searched Interstate 5, the Antelope Valley Freeway and back roads.

Just after checking the Lake Hughes elementary school parking lot, Gayer and Mejia noticed in the driveway of a home a pickup truck matching the description of the truck used in the kidnapping.

Because they were in a car with CHP markings and were worried their presence might alarm the kidnapper, the unarmed volunteers drove past the home, then radioed dispatchers to alert local officers.

Within minutes, Newhall and Antelope Valley CHP units had the home surrounded. Officers freed the woman, who was uninjured, and arrested the man.

``They exercised very good judgment,'' Brown said of the volunteers. ``They utilized the training we gave them and didn't put themselves or anyone else in harm's way. They did exactly what they were supposed to, and I'm very proud of them.''

The senior volunteer program has been in operation in the Antelope Valley for just over a year. Gayer and Mejia were among the first 15 volunteers to graduate from academy training.

The volunteers help direct traffic around accidents and at special events and patrol around schools, among other duties. They have no authority to make arrests and are not armed, but they radio CHP officers if they spot problems.

``This is probably the best-organized unit we have, and frankly we're glad they're here,'' Brown said of the Antelope Valley volunteers.