Woman abducted, left for dead after being taken across state

BUFFALO, Mo. -- A 67-year-old woman was abducted from her southeast Missouri home and taken to Dallas County in southwest Missouri, where she was attacked and left for dead, authorities said Monday. Five people were taken into custody hours later in two counties.

The woman, Carmen Joann Tibbs of Campbell, was in stable condition at a Springfield hospital after being found about 3:30 a.m. Monday at a home near Buffalo.

Her throat had been cut, and it appeared an attempt was made to strangle her, Dallas County Sheriff Billie Blair said.

Later that day, authorities said, three people were taken into custody in Dunklin County and two others in Dallas County. Two of those in Dunklin County -- Gregory Allen and wife Toni Allen, both neighbors of Tibbs -- were charged with first-degree burglary, kidnapping and first-degree robbery, Sheriff Bob Holder said.

The third person taken into custody in Dunklin County was not immediately charged, though the investigation was continuing, Holder said.

Tibbs' home was ransacked before she was forced into her car, driven to Dallas County and was assaulted before being left along a gravel road, Holder said.

"They thought the lady was dead," Blair said.

After the attack, Tibbs was able to make her way to a house about eight miles east of Buffalo, Blair said. She was found hiding in a pickup at the home.

Police believe the suspects drove back to southeast Missouri. The victim's 1999 Pontiac Grand Am was found abandoned and on fire about 7 a.m. in Dunklin County, authorities said. A search for the suspects was under way.

Blair didn't immediately know how the victim was able to get free or why she was dumped in southwest Missouri.