No arrest: A month after alleged abduction, questions linger

A month after a 42-year-old woman reported being abducted from her southern Albemarle County home and driven 300 miles down the Blue Ridge Parkway to North Carolina by a slim, short, gun-toting, masked assailant wearing sunglasses, one law enforcement officer has questioned the validity of her story, and the FBI says the investigation is still active. The alleged victim, however, isn't talking.

"I have no comment," says Kelly Porterfield, whose husband, Bradley Porterfield, reported their burgundy Honda Odyssey minivan stolen on the morning of Thursday, June 23, only to have it turn up later that evening– along with his wife– near Blowing Rock, NC. Questions submitted to Bradley Porterfield through Facebook were not answered by presstime.

According to a report in the Watauga Democrat, Porterfield, a registered nurse who works at Charlottesville Health and Rehabilitation (where a state recertification survey was under way the day of the alleged abduction), was found by a passerby in the woods about a mile from the Boone Fork parking area where her minivan was discovered.

"That case is still active," says the FBI's Richmond-based spokesperson Dee Rybiski, who confirms that the FBI has not yet released a composite sketch of the alleged assailant or issued any warnings of any continued danger to the public. Rybiski declined further comment on the investigation, citing the lead agent's recent receipt of investigative materials coming in from various agencies that initially worked the case in both Virginia and North Carolina.

Porterfield was treated at the Watauga Medical Center the evening of the alleged abduction, according to early reports, then released to her husband as law enforcement on the scene hinted that the story might not be what it seemed.

"We're not sure how valid this claim is," Steve Stinnett, the Parkway's chief ranger, told the Democrat. Reached by the Hook, Stinnett declined comment and referred a reporter's inquiry to the FBI.

–an early online version of the story had a locational snafu which has been fixed

7 comments

She was found in Blowing Rock and the van was found near Cold Prong pond? Watuaga indeed

Boone Rock, NC?... Really? Where's a good proofreader when you need one?

--an early online version of the story had a locational snafu which has been fixed

So when will false report charges be filed in this case, with restitution ordered?

What is going on at CHRC. When this first happened the administrator went around the building and told everyone what had happened. Now they are daring anyone to talk about it with each other or the press, telling staff that they will be terminated if they are caught speaking to anyone about it. What do they know that the public does not know?

The person telling employees not to talk about it is the unit manager,Eveyln,maybe the police should question her.

The company she works for put pressure on Newsplex channel 19 so they took the story and comments section off of their site. Thanks to The Hook for being deligent and reporting the story. I have enjoyed following this story, I have always liked a good FICTION story.