Massive hunt for US woman feared snatched near J'lem

Friend escapes attackers with hands tied and stab wounds, alerting police; helicopters used, military involved in search

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JUDY SIEGEL, MELANIE LIDMAN AND
Police 311 (photo credit: Channel 2 [file])
Police 311
(photo credit: Channel 2 [file])
A huge police and IDF search was under way on Saturday night for a woman feared kidnapped in the Beit Shemesh-Jerusalem area, in what police think could be a nationalistically motivated incident.
The search, which was joined by volunteers, was launched after another Kaye Susan Wilson, found with her hands bound and several stab wounds in her chest and back, reported being attacked by two Arab men in a forest near Mata, located outside Jerusalem, within the Green Line.
RELATED: Man, 20, dies after stabbed at TA's Terminal nightclub 70-year-old J'lem woman found stabbed to death at home
She said she escaped her attackers and managed to reach Mata, where she met two families in a park. They contacted emergency services.
Wilson, 46, a tour guide, made aliya from Britain in 1991, and lives in Givat Zeev. Her missing friend is believed to be American.
Her stab wounds were superficial and she did not lose a lot of blood, accordingto a spokesman at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem. She suffered moderate-to-light injuries, and was treated in the trauma unit.
The spokesman refused to give any more details, saying the case was in police hands, and declined to let doctors speak to the press.
Kaye remained conscious on the way to the hospital, Magen David Adom paramedics said.
“She described being attacked, tied up and stabbed by two Arab men,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
“She did not know who they were, or what the reason for the attack was. We are examining whether this is a nationalistic stabbing, but other directions are being looked at as well,” Rosenfeld said.
Security forces were highly concerned for the safety of the missing woman. The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) became involved in the search and the investigation as concern mounted on Saturday night.
Police sealed off Route 375 near Mata in both directions, erected roadblocks in the Jerusalem area, and scrambled helicopters to assist in the search.
Jerusalem district police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco told reporters during a press briefing in the area that searchers were being guided by descriptions of the missing woman given by the stabbing victim.
Israel Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen traveled to a mobile command and control center set up by Jerusalem police to coordinate operations.
The IDF dispatched additional forces to help comb the area.
Military sources said the soldiers were participating in police-led patrols and were working intelligence sources to try and determine if the missing woman was kidnapped or murdered.