KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 28-year-old man drove a 19-year-old University of Tennessee student more than 20 miles to Grainger County after picking her up near a house party in the Fort Sanders neighborhood, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
The incident led university officials to send an alert to students notifying them of a report of an abduction.
The woman's roommate reported her missing after she left a party Saturday night on Clinch Ave., without telling anyone where she was going, according to the report. The roommate used an iPhone app to track her location, which showed the phone pinging in the Fort Sanders neighborhood, then to Blaine, then back to Fort Sanders.
The driver told officers he was leaving a different party and noticed the woman stumbling around in the road. He said he picked her up and drove her around the UT area and then to Blaine, but claimed he did not take her into his home.
He said he did not initiate any physical contact with her, but claimed she jumped into his lap while he was driving on Rutledge Pike, according to the report.
The report said she was very intoxicated and "could not produce many details." She told officers she didn't know the driver and couldn't remember how she got in his car. She also said someone touched her in a sexual manner, but she didn't know who it was.
According to the report, she said she didn't think she was sexually abused and refused medical treatment.
An officer looking for the woman had information about a gray Honda from Grainger County, though the report did not explain the origin of the information. The officer spotted that vehicle in a parking spot on Highland Ave. and pulled it over for a traffic violation.
The missing woman was in the front seat of the car, according to the report, and the officer noted that her clothes appeared to be disheveled and her pants were unzipped.
Knoxville Police have not charged the man with a crime, but the investigation is still ongoing. The report said that he was not supposed to be on UT property following a similar incident that happened in 2018.
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A student was abducted from an off-campus house party in the Fort Sanders area last Saturday night and into early Sunday morning, UT said in a statement.
The student was recovered safely. At this time, the suspect has not been arrested.
Officials did not release specific information about the case.
The Knoxville Police Department has opened an investigation into the case.