Woman kidnapped on Lenoir-Rhyne campus

HICKORY, N.C. -- A teenager is kidnapped in her own car and forced at gunpoint to drive a suspect out of town.

Police checked surveillance video from the Lenoir-Rhyne University campus where it happened, but that video didn't have any clear images of the man. The only description they have to go on is what the 18-year-old victim, Jessica Muniz, remembers.

After hearing the news Wednesday, students at Lenoir-Rhyne are torn on the issue of campus safety.

"I mean, it's shocking. You don't really hear about that happening in Hickory," said student Sam Houston, who has lived in Hickory her entire life.

She says it didn't take long for news of the kidnapping to spread across the small campus. "People (are) kind of talking about it in class," she said.

An Aramark food service employee, working at the Bear's Lair cafeteria on campus, told police she was kidnapped at gunpoint as she left work late Tuesday night. She told detectives the man pointed a gun at her and forced her to drive to Cherryville. She also told police he threatened to hurt her if she struggled.

When they arrived, the man got out of her car and into a red pickup truck, leaving Muniz unharmed.

Understandably, the news has many who live on or around campus, very concerned.

"Yeah, it definitely bothers me," said a neighbor.

A Lenoir-Rhyne University graduate said, "It's really made me think twice, me and my wife."

A current student explained, "There's definitely been incidents in the past and I feel that they definitely should up security."

But another student, Wyatt Starnes, doesn't agree. He says, "I mean they're doing about everything they can do, there's really not much they can do. It's usually quiet."

The university would not comment about security Wednesday, but did issue a statement saying they are cooperating fully with investigators.

Anyone who saw a man about 5-foot-8 to 6-feet tall with dreadlocks and a moustache around campus Tuesday night is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.

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