Michigan man arrested in Waldo, charged with kidnapping woman in Mississippi

Staff report

WALDO, Fla. – George Edward Tyler Jackson, 45, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, was arrested Friday and charged with kidnapping and human trafficking after a woman told employees at a Waldo truck stop that Jackson had kidnapped her in Mississippi on May 13.

At about 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of an abduction at the Pilot Truck Stop in Waldo. Deputies encountered Jackson inside the truck stop, and he reportedly began explaining that he had not abducted the victim before he was even asked about the incident. He was then arrested.

Deputies made contact with the victim, who was locked inside the office with employees of the truck stop. She reportedly told deputies that she and her fiancé had been stuck at the Love’s Truck Stop in Flowood, Mississippi because their vehicle had broken down. She said that Jackson, who was driving a semi truck, had offered them gas money, but they declined. She said she changed her mind about the money and went to Jackson’s truck to talk to him, at which point he grabbed her around the neck and forced her into the truck, then held her at knife-point. She said that when her fiancé came to check on her, Jackson held a knife to her side and forced her to say she was OK and was leaving with Jackson.

She said Jackson remained overnight in the parking lot of the truck stop and sexually assaulted her in the sleeper compartment of his truck, then they left the next morning and traveled through multiple states; she said he sexually assaulted her every night and that she was unable to escape because he told her the doors locked from the outside, so she could not get out. She said he made her urinate in bottles so she wouldn’t have to leave the truck. She said he told her she could go free in a month if she did what she was told, but if she tried to escape, he would kill her and leave her in a ditch. When they arrived in Waldo, she said, Jackson forgot to lock the truck, and she snuck out of the passenger side of the truck while he was not looking.

Employees at the Waldo truck stop reported that when the victim entered the store, she was disheveled and appeared to be terrified; she said she had been kidnapped. Several employees took her to the office to keep her safe from Jackson; they said that when Jackson came into the store and saw that she was being hidden by employees, he said she was lying and “telling stories.” They said he told them he did not abduct her, but they had not accused him of that or said anything about an abduction. The manager reported that store surveillance video showed the victim running away from the truck shortly after Jackson walked away.

A search warrant was obtained for the truck, and deputies reportedly found multiple bottles of urine, along with the knife described by the victim.

Post Miranda, Jackson reportedly said the entire interaction with the victim was consensual and that he saved her from a bad situation in Mississippi.

The victim was transported to an emergency room, where a sexual assault forensic exam was conducted; a pinpoint injury was reportedly found on her side where she said Jackson held a knife against her.

Criminal history and bail information are unavailable on weekends, but Jackson remains in the Alachua County Jail.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.