PEARCE, Ariz. (TCN) — Authorities arrested a man on suspicion of kidnapping a 75-year-old woman and killing her 67-year-old boyfriend last week.
According to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, on the evening of Jan. 3, deputies responded to a report of a possible kidnapping and made contact with a 75-year-old female victim. Thirty-seven-year-old Rynn Prairie-Rocca, who was wearing a mask and dark clothing, allegedly entered the woman’s workshop and “pointed a handgun at her” before forcing her into the home and restraining and blindfolding her.
The victim reportedly told officials she “heard several loud noises a short time later” but wasn’t sure what was happening. Later that evening, Prairie-Rocca allegedly placed the victim into the back seat of her own car.
According to the sheriff’s office, the woman said the vehicle stopped, and she safely escaped the restraints and ran to a house for help. Prairie-Rocca reportedly went into a Dollar General store, and the victim believed he was still inside the business when she sought assistance.
The 75-year-old woman requested that deputies speak with her boyfriend, who she believed was at her house, to inform him she was being transported to a hospital for minor injuries from the incident.
Deputies attempted to contact anyone inside the residence. They eventually made entry and found the boyfriend deceased. The sheriff’s office did not disclose his name.
Officials identified Prairie-Rocca as a person of interest and began searching for him. He reportedly barricaded himself near the area of Catclaw and Highway 181, and the sheriff’s office issued a shelter-in-place order. According to KTVK/KPHO-TV, officials located the suspect in an abandoned RV and took him into custody. The shelter-in-place order was subsequently lifted.
Prairie-Rocca was reportedly charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2023 and released from prison in August.
MORE:
- Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Seeking Person of Interest in Homicide/Kidnapping – Cochise County Sheriff’s Office
- Suspect arrested after woman kidnapped, man killed in southern Arizona – KTVK/KPHO
