A gunman kidnapped and raped two teenage girls in southern California yesterday before being killed by pursuing police.
Officers said they found the man just in time to save the girls from probable death.
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Police photograph of wanted rapist Roy Ratliff
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Paroled felon Roy Ratliff, driving a car he had hijacked in Las Vegas, abducted Tamera Brooks (16), and Jaqueline Marris (17), just before 2 am as they sat in separate vehicles with male friends at a spot 40 miles north of Los Angeles popular with local teenagers.
Kern County Sheriff Carl Sparks said his deputies shot Ratliff (37), to death and pulled the two terrified girls from the back of his stolen white Ford Bronco about 12 hours later in a remote area where he had likely gone to murder them.
"That's the only reason I can think of that he was in the boondocks where he was," Mr Sparks said, referring to the rugged area where Ratliff had taken the girls after assaulting them.
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"We probably saved them by 10 minutes. He was parked, he had found a spot," Sparks said. "He had already raped them. There wasn't anything left to do. He saw the police helicopters in the air and said 'I've got to get rid of these girls.' And he certainly wasn't going to drop them off at the closest market."
Ratliff had crashed the Bronco after a short chase by police and was firing at officers through its back window as the girls lay huddled in a cargo area. Officers returned fire, unaware that the girls were in danger.
Sheriff Sparks said that when Ratliff showed the deputies his gun and yelled "No way, no way" they opened fire again, killing him, as another officer pulled the girls to safety.
"I don't know that they will ever be the same, but they were very thankful they were alive," he said.
Ratliff had bound the two young men who were with the girls with duct tape before ditching his stolen car and driving off in the Bronco, which was owned by one of the men.