Truck driver safe after couple holds him at gunpoint while driving through Scott County

BENTON, Mo. — An over-the-road truck driver was located safely after allegedly being held at gunpoint by a couple early Monday in Scott County.

Around 10:40 a.m. Monday, Scott County Sheriff's Office received a call from employees of a trucking company who said they suspected one of their drivers wasn't acting normal during a call with them and were worried he was under duress, according to Lt. Robyn Merideth with the Scott County Sheriff's Office.

According to Merideth, the 35-year-old truck driver from Bismarck, Missouri, was northbound on Interstate 55 when he stopped and pulled onto the side of road around the 40- to 50-mile marker to check his vehicle after possibly running over debris. The driver said a male and female, whom he had passed while driving, approached him and asked him for a ride. When the driver told the couple he would not give them a ride, the man allegedly brandished a gun at the truck driver and demanded a ride.

Against his will, the driver and the couple began traveling north on Interstate 55. At one point, the driver received a call from his employer.

"The male subject didn't like what the driver was saying and struck the driver in the head with the butt of the firearm," Merideth said.

Around the 76-mile-marker, near Blodgett, Missouri, the truck driver said the couple took his driver's license, cash and cellphone and took off on foot, running south toward Route C. The couple threw the driver's cellphone in the grass. He was able to eventually find it and call his employer, which in turn, called 911.

The truck driver was located by law enforcement at 11:04 a.m. at the 76.2 mile marker, Merideth said.

The trucker estimated the incident happened 30 minutes before he was able to call his employer for help.

The suspects are described as a white male with dark hair wearing a dark baseball cap, black sleeveless shirt and blue jeans, and a white female with dark, strawberry blonde hair with the sides of her head shaved and wearing a pink or red shirt and blue jeans. They are carrying a silver-colored firearm.

As of Tuesday, the couple have not been located. Anyone with information about this couple or their whereabouts may contact the Scott County Sheriff's Office at (573) 545-3525.