UMVA has learned that a shocking arrest has been made in West Virginia in connection to a harrowing kidnapping and sexual assault investigation in Ohio.
Austin Dubois, a 26-year-old Canadian man, was taken into custody on Tuesday during a routine traffic stop along U.S. Route 50 in Grafton, West Virginia State Police announced. The suspect had been on the run, with troopers from across four West Virginia counties searching for him and a blue Chevrolet Cruz linked to the Ohio kidnapping.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Dubois, who hails from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, has been charged with kidnapping in Taylor County, West Virginia, and malicious assault and first- and second-degree sexual assault in Ohio’s Harrison County. The victim's account of the ordeal is brutal: Dubois allegedly held her against her will, subjected her to sexual assault, stabbed her in the leg, and inflicted bite marks all over her body.
The accused's chilling confession to police reveals a sinister plot. Dubois claimed he entered the United States illegally on foot in Washington state, then traveled by bus to the victim's home. He detailed how he broke into the residence, hiding in the basement and attic over two days before pouncing on the woman and forcing her to flee with him.
Dubois allegedly threatened to harm the victim if she tried to escape or refused his demands for sex. He is currently being held at West Virginia’s Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Correctional Facility without bond. With criminal charges pending in Harrison County, West Virginia, and Ohio, Dubois may also face federal charges as the investigation continues.
