Abducted woman's ATM card used in Maryland

PHILADELPHIA -- A bank card belonging to a woman abducted Sunday night from a Philadelphia street was used Tuesday morning in Maryland, police said as relatives tearfully pleaded for her return.

Detectives said security images showed a man using Carlesha Freeland-Gaither's card at 6 a.m. at an ATM off a highway exit for Aberdeen, about 75 miles from Philadelphia.

Chief inspector Dennis Wilson said Philadelphia police were working with Maryland authorities and the FBI to search the area.

It was a fresh lead in a case that gained attention after police released black-and-white surveillance video showing the 22-year-old woman flailing in vain as a man rushed her along a sidewalk to a parked car.

The FBI said Tuesday it would offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect. Local officials previously pledged $17,000 in rewards.

"Our goal is the safe return of Carlesha to her family and friends," Christian Zajac, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia office, said at a news conference.

Several of Freeland-Gaither's relatives also spoke. Her grandmother Ana Mulero said the missing woman had lived with her in Maryland for several years and still had acquaintances there.

"Just return her to us, to her family," Mulero said. "We need her."

Freeland-Gaither's mother, Keisha Gaither, said: "I just want her home. She got family. She's loved. Just let her come home."

To her daughter, Gaither said: "Just fight. Don't give up. Just fight."

Freeland-Gaither, a nursing assistant at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia, had graduated from high school in Maryland and lived with her grandfather in Philadelphia until a couple of months ago, when she moved in with her boyfriend, relatives said.

Police said they were unsure whether Freeland-Gaither knew her abductor or whether more than one person was involved.

A witness called 911 about 9:40 p.m. Sunday and reported seeing a woman identified as Freeland-Gaither screaming for help as she was forced into a dark gray four-door vehicle. Police said Freeland-Gaither's glasses and cellphone were dropped on the street.

The witness said Freeland-Gaither -- described by her parents as easy going until she's threatened -- broke the car's rear side windows before the vehicle sped off.

Police said the suspect is in his 20s and about 5-foot-10 with a medium to heavy build. They said he is likely driving a gray, four-door Ford sedan -- the vehicle in the surveillance video -- likely built between 2000 and 2002.

Freeland-Gaither's parents circulated fliers in Germantown, the neighborhood where she lived and was last seen. Facebook groups sprung up with prayers for her safe return.

Mayor Michael Nutter approved a $10,000 city reward Monday for information on Freeland-Gaither's disappearance.

John McNesby, the President of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said Tuesday the union would offer an additional $5,000 reward. The Citizens Crime Commission added $2,000.