A 44-year-old Florida man faces felony charges after authorities say he snatched a woman off a Winter Park street, forced her into his truck, and sped away despite an off-duty deputy’s attempt to intervene.
Matthew Hunt Seaberg was arrested Monday outside an Orlando high school, according to an Orange County arrest warrant affidavit. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, tampering with a victim, and battery.
The incident unfolded on Sunday, May 31, near a Wawa convenience store. According to investigators, surveillance footage initially captured Seaberg’s truck driving past the woman while she was talking to someone outside the store.
Moments later, as the woman walked through the area, Seaberg allegedly stopped his vehicle, approached her from behind, and “lifted her by the waist onto his right shoulder,” the affidavit states. He then forced her into the front passenger seat and drove away.
Security cameras tracking the fleeing truck showed “a figure [that] appeared to be flailing and attempting to exit the vehicle,” according to court documents.
Seaberg briefly pulled over, at which point an off-duty sheriff’s deputy spotted the commotion and tried to step in. The deputy reported hearing the woman screaming, “Stop, please. You are hurting me.” When the deputy attempted to pull the woman from the passenger side, Seaberg allegedly accelerated and fled the scene, prompting the deputy to give chase.
Law enforcement used surveillance footage to identify the truck’s license plate number. Investigators attempted to conduct a welfare check on the woman, but court records do not indicate whether they successfully made contact. The current condition and identity of the woman remain unclear.
Following his arrest the next day, Seaberg remains in custody as the investigation continues.
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