Registered sex offender named person of interest in suspected kidnapping of North Carolina woman
The 58-year-old woman remains missing after being last seen on Monday.
Authorities arrested a registered sex offender who is a person of interest in the suspected kidnapping of a 58-year-old North Carolina woman who remains missing after she was last seen on Monday, according to police.
Robin M. Doyle, from Hickory, North Carolina, was last seen by a family member on Monday at about 5 p.m., according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Authorities responded to a report that Doyle was missing on Tuesday, officials said.
Leroy Allen Loper, 54, was named a person of interest in the case and was arrested on Wednesday night for unrelated sex offender registry charges, the sheriff's office said on Thursday.
Police said they believe Doyle was possibly kidnapped from her residence on Tuesday.
Loper was arrested in Surry County, about 60 miles away from Doyle's residence, according to Lt. Dane Hoyle of the Catawba County Police Department.
Investigators found a bra near the residence and zip-ties in the yard of Doyle's home, police said. Zip-ties matching the same description were also recovered from a red Kia driven by Loper in Surry County, according to Hoyle.
Court documents said cameras in the area and witnesses spotted a red car leaving Doyle's neighborhood at a high rate of speed early Tuesday morning, according to Hoyle.
Investigators were led to Loper's location in Surry County by video footage from a camera in the area that showed Loper's 2015 red Kia Optima, along with its tag, according to police.
Doyle was not found at Loper's location at the time of his arrest, Hoyle said.
Doyle's father, who she lives with, said when he woke up Tuesday, Doyle was gone, but her car was still in the driveway and the back door to the home was open, according to ABC News' Charlotte affiliate WSOC.
Police describe Doyle as a white female about 5 feet 6 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes.
Loper is a registered sex offender with felony charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree forcible sexual offense, the sheriff's office said. He is being held in the Catawba County Detention Facility on a $200,000 secured bond, according to the sheriff's office.
The FBI, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Surry County Sheriff's Office are assisting the Catawba County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.
Anyone with information on Loper's whereabouts between Monday and Wednesday night when he was arrested is encouraged to contact authorities.