Authorities nab kidnapping suspect after victim escapes in Columbia Falls

A man accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in Missoula was arrested in Flathead County on Sunday after his victim escaped by bailing out of the vehicle the two were riding in, authorities say. 

Adam Joel Whiteman was being held in the county jail on Monday as prosecutors filed one count of felony kidnapping and misdemeanor counts of partner or family member assault and escape against him in Flathead County District Court. An arraignment has not yet been scheduled. 

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies began searching for Whiteman about 9 a.m., April 21 after his victim phoned authorities from a coffee shop on U.S. 2 in Columbia Heights. She told dispatchers her ex-boyfriend had been holding her hostage in her black 2017 Kia Sorento, according to court documents.