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Jacksonville Police Search for Hostage in Bizarro Murder-Kidnapping Case

The 27-year-old woman was reportedly kidnapped as part of a murder plot devised by her captors.

Police in Jacksonville, Florida, are searching for a 27-year-old woman they say was kidnapped as part of a murder plot devised by her captors. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office put out a press release Saturday asking for the public’s help in locating Chelsea Elaine Swafford, who they said is believed to “be in danger.” Her kidnapping is thought to be connected to a murder discovered by police earlier that day. According to Action News Jax, after police found a man shot to death early Saturday morning, an unidentified person called the sheriff’s office command center to report that a man and a woman were kidnapped late Friday night to help their captors locate the soon-to-be shooting victim. They were reportedly held hostage until the man was found and murdered. While the alleged captors let the male hostage go, the woman—believed to be Swafford—is thought to still be with the suspects. Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact the sheriff’s office. The identity of the male shooting victim has not yet been disclosed, and it was not immediately clear what relation, if any, Swafford had to him.