On this day, Aug. 1, in 2002, two girls were abducted from their dates at a lovers’ lane in California and rescued after their kidnapper crashed his vehicle and was shot to death.
Roy Ratliff, 37, bound the couples, left the boys behind, and drove off in a Ford Bronco with Jacque Marris, 17, and Tamara Brooks, 16.
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Ratliff raped them and threatened to kill them. The girls, who did not know each other, communicated by using their fingers to trace letters into each other’s hands. The girls attacked him with a knife and whiskey bottle, but were unsuccessful.
Police spotted the vehicle as Ratliff looked for a place to kill the girls. Ratliff tried to drive over the officers, but was shot. The girls climbed from the vehicle and hugged.
— Scott McCabe
