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Woman Apparently Abducted From A Walmart Parking Lot Found Dead On The Side Of A Road
Authorities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota say they have a person of interest in custody and there's no threat to the public after Pasqalina Esen Badi was found slain.
A South Dakota woman who was abducted over the weekend from a Sioux Falls Walmart has been found dead on the side of a road, authorities say.
Pasqalina Esen Badi, 20, of Sioux Fallsm was abducted Sunday morning and killed sometime after that – her body being found Monday afternoon south of Sioux Falls, local police Lt. Terrance Matia said, according to local newspaper The Argus Leader. Her body was discovered on the side of a road in rural Lincoln County on Monday afternoon following a missing persons report being filed that morning.
A person of interest in the killing has been taken into custody, according to Matia.
"We believe the main person involved has been identified," Matia said. "There is no danger to the public."
Authorities also specified that the abduction and killing may be to be random, as they have not discovered a link between Badi and the person of interest at this point.
"It could be random," Matia said. "We aren't certain on that because we are still investigating. We don't know the relationships between everybody yet, who is involved or potentially who could be involved."
Surveillance video at the Walmart captured a man following Badi to her vehicle, then getting into the front passenger seat of the car and leaving the parking lot. The car was discovered a few hours later burned out – with fire investigators believing arson as the cause, according to The Argus Leader.
Police have specified that although the person of interest is being held on related charges, he has not yet been charged in Badi's disappearance and death, according to local television station KSFY.
Police have also not released details of the condition of Badi's body, as they are still actively investigating. She was found with an "abrasion" on her face, according to the Argus Leader.
