PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. — Almost 36 years to the day after a woman was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in Pinetop-Lakeside, police have announced that an arrest has been made in the case.
Pinetop-Lakeside police said that in the early morning hours of Dec. 16, 1988, a woman who worked as a clerk at a gas station in Pinetop, was threatened and forced into a vehicle as she left the gas station.
The man who kidnapped her then took her to a remote spot in the woods in Lakeside, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted and then left.
The woman was able to find a home nearby where she was able to call 911 and get help.
At the time, police were not able to make an arrest as they had no solid leads in the case. The case has been reviewed multiple times over the past 36 years, but it was not until recently that police were able to find a suspect.
Pinetop-Lakeside police said that due to advancements in DNA testing, they were able to identify Thomas Martin Duke from San Tan Valley as a suspect in the case.
Duke was indicted by a Navajo County grand jury on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual abuse. He was taken into custody at his job in Maricopa County and is currently being held at the Navajo County Jail.
Pinetop-Lakeside police are still investigating this case and if you know anything, the department says you can call Detective Ricky Bunch at (928) 368-8800 or the WETIP anonymous hotline at 1-800-782-7463.
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