Attorney freed nine hours after her abduction

Published Thursday, June 1, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A family law attorney was found yesterday about nine hours after she was abducted at gunpoint from a parking lot, and police arrested a man suspected in the kidnapping, officials said.

Sandra Eubank Gregory, 34, was found in a motel a few miles from where she was abducted. Lt. Henry Irby said Gregory was "reportedly all right." He would not comment further on her condition.

Police swarmed the Comfort Inn around 5:20 p.m. and arrested a man who fit the suspect’s description, holding him down on a walkway outside the second-floor motel room before putting him in the back of a police car.

The lawyer was led out of the room moments later with a covering over her head. She appeared to walk out under her own power. Irby said police do not believe she knew the man who abducted her.

Yesterday morning, witnesses told police they saw a gunman force Gregory back into the Lexus she was driving and then drive away. The abduction occurred near her office.

Authorities spent most of the day searching for Gregory and her greenish-gray sport utility vehicle. A child safety seat was in the back seat, but Irby said no children were believed to have been in the vehicle.

Irby said money and a weapon were found in the motel room. The Birmingham News quoted police as saying there was activity on Gregory’s account at three area branches of AmSouth bank after the abduction.

Officials did not release any information about the suspect’s identity or any charges he might face.