Halifax airport abduction leads to N.B. arrest

A 50-year-old man has been arrested in Moncton in connection with the abduction of a 41-year-old Halifax woman from the parkade of Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Wednesday.

Const. Chantal Farrah of the Codiac RCMP, which polices Moncton and the surrounding area, confirmed a man was arrested without incident at about 4:45 p.m. at the corner of Main and King streets.

Farrah said RCMP knew the suspect was in Moncton because they had information that he was seen near a strip mall on Mapleton Road.

Dorette Pronk had told police she was approached by a man in the parking garage at the Halifax airport around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, after she dropped off a passenger who was catching a flight.

Pronk said that as she backed out of her parking space and paused to move her car forward, a man she did not recognize got into the passenger side of her car. She said she tried to push him out.

"He pushed back, he fought back," Pronk told CBC News on Thursday.

She said the man told her he had a gun and held something against her chest. "He said, 'I need you to leave right now and go as fast as possible,'" Pronk said.

"I don't really want to help him but I do want to live and so, I guess I'm driving."

'He wanted to get $4,000 out of my account'

Pronk said the man ordered her to drive to Truro, N.S., about 70 kilometres from the airport. During the ride, Pronk said the man rummaged through her purse and took cash.

"He said that he wanted to get $4,000 out of my account before he would let me go," said Pronk.

They got off Highway 102 at exit 12, in Brookfield, N.S. They went to a bank machine, where Pronk said she was forced to withdraw about $400. She said the man seemed unsatisfied with the amount he had and they drove to Truro, where he made additional withdrawals from her account at local ATMs.

Pronk said she felt too intimidated to run, even as they stopped at gas stations and convenience stores for money.

"He was saying that he'd blow both of us up," she said. "At that moment, how do you verify things?"

Pronk said the man eventually ordered her to drive down a dirt road. When they stopped, he told her to get out of the car and into the trunk. She refused.

"I screamed and I ran," she said. "I still don't know what happened to him and why he didn't come after me, or whether he did."

Pronk ran to a nearby home and called the police.