Woman kidnapped by armed ex-boyfriend saved with help from phone app

Suspect led police on a 21-mile chase along the highway

The victim was tracked down thanks to’Find My iPhone’ app (Shutterstock / Mino Surkala)

A kidnapping victim was rescued from her captor thanks to the Find My iPhone app, according to authorities.

The El Monte Police Department said in a press release that the kidnapping unfolded on Saturday when the victim’s ex-boyfriend Mario Montano turned up at the roadside cafe where she worked in in El Monte, southern California.

Montano was allegedly armed with a gun and appeared “distraught,” authorities said.

Police said the former couple got into a heated argument before Montano threw his ex-girlfriend into her car and drove off.

The victim managed to call a friend who then phoned police at around 5.50pm, reporting what had happened and handing over her missing friend’s location via the iPhone app, police said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deployed a helicopter which spotted the vehicle on the Interstate 5 freeway.

California Highway Patrol units then tried to stop the vehicle but the suspect refused to stop and led police on a 21-mile chase along the highway, police said.

The chase eventually came to an end when officers deployed spike stripes to puncture the car’s tires.

The victim – who has not been named – was found uninjured and the suspect was taken into custody on charges of kidnapping and felony evading, police said.

Montano is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

The Independent contacted El Monte Police Department for further comment.