Lincoln County officers apprehend elusive kidnapping suspect

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — Detectives are investigating the alleged kidnapping of an eastern Lincoln County woman for the second time in the last three months.

The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call from a resident at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on Cowan’s Ford Road that a man broke into the residence, assaulted him and kidnapped a 22-year-old woman.

The suspects were identified as Jacob Alan Houser -- an ex-boyfriend of the victim -- who already faces a number of charges in connection with the first alleged kidnapping -- and a black male accomplice.

That man stayed in the vehicle while Houser went inside the home and forcibly brought the victim out and placed her in the car, investigators said.

They fled the scene in a black vehicle believed to be a Honda Civic.

The second suspect was described as wearing an orange shirt and blue jeans, with black hair and a short black beard. Deputies searched a number of areas in and around Old Plank Road in Stanley, where Houser lives, but did not find him.

Authorities later arrested Houser on Thursday.

The victim was located safe and officers also found Houser’s accomplice, who they are not naming.

Houser faces charges in connection with Wednesday’s incident, including felony first-degree kidnapping and felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

The case is still under investigation and further charges are pending.

On July 16, deputies were dispatched to the Cowan’s Ford Overlook after a passing motorist reported a man assaulting a female at that location. The motorist told officers he was driving past the Overlook when he spotted a woman in distress.

The woman was screaming and waving her arms as a man was screaming at her. That man then ran to the edge of the hill at the Overlook and disappeared over the edge, authorities said.

The victim told officers she was at her home on Cowan’s Ford Road when she heard a knock at the door. She partially opened it and her ex-boyfriend, Houser forced his way into the residence.

The victim said Houser grabbed her by the throat, dragged her out of the house and into his pickup truck before driving her to the Cowan’s Ford Overlook.

He then pulled her out of the truck and toward the water. She began to scream and that drew the attention of the passing motorist, authorities said.

Houser then ran to the edge of the overlook as officers from Huntersville Police Department and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrived on the scene.

CMPD called in a K-9 unit to assist in the search for Houser, but they were unable to find him.

The victim was transported to CHS-Lincoln for treatment.

In that incident, Houser was charged with one felony count each of second-degree kidnapping, first degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, and assault by strangulation inflicting physical injury.

He is also charged with one misdemeanor count each of interfering with emergency communications and driving while license are revoked.

Houser is also wanted in Mecklenburg County for failure to appear.

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