A woman who was kidnapped on Thursday from a Louisiana child development center parking lot was found the next day inside an abandoned home about 12 miles away.
According to Lafayette, La. paper the Daily Advertiser, 29-year-old Bethany Arceneaux was found by rescue volunteers with multiple stab wounds on her body. She was covered in blood and bruises, but was alive.
"We went and got her in that house. We kicked doors down," Bethany's brother Ryan Arceneaux told the Advertiser.
Bethany Arceneaux was rushed to a nearby hospital once she was found, and spoke to investigators there on what happened during the attack. She is reportedly in stable condition, currently.
A second brother, Ryan, along with a group of other family members rushed the vacant house located just 10 miles west of Lafayette, La. once they realized that Bethany was there. They grabbed the 29-year-old, leaving behind the man accused of kidnapping her.
Scott Thomas, 29, of Leonville, La. was said to be the suspect, and was also the father of her son.
"I'm so happy. God is good," Bethany and Ryan Arceneaux's aunt Monica Arceneaux-Henry told reporters following the rescue.
Thomas died on Friday, according to Cmdr. Kip Judice of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office. Arceneaux family members reportedly injured Thomas while attempting to remove Bethany from the site. Thomas eventually died from the wounds he sustained during the confrontation with the family.
A SWAT team was reportedly sent to the scene of the incident.
Judice told the Advertiser that the family hurt Thomas while trying to defend Bethany.
Thomas allegedly arrived at a day care center on Wednesday night while Bethany was picking up their 2-year-old child. Thomas then reportedly shoved Bethany into a car and drove off, leaving the toddler in his mother's car. The 2-year-old was not injured.
Records showed that Bethany issued an order of protection June 17 against Thomas. He was arrested a month later for violating the order. He was additionally charged with aggravated assault and aggravated flight from an officer.
In her complaint to the police, Bethany wrote that Thomas kept "threatening to kill us."
"He put a knift to my neck countless times," she said. He also reportedly choked and dragged her by the hair. She also said that the father held her son hostage.
