gagged the girls. He then took one victim to a large cypress tree close to the Indian River, tying her legs to the trunk just below her knees before binding a noose around her neck, which he affixed to a branch in such a manner as to force her to stand upon the exposed roots to counter the pressure from the noose. Schaefer then took the other victim to another tree a short distance away where she too was bound in a similar manner in which she was forced to stand upon a narrow exposed tree root as a makeshift, sloping plinth to counter the pressure from the noose around her neck. Both were informed they were to be raped and murdered. At that moment, Schaefer received an urgent radio dispatch informing him to immediately report to the police station. He left both girls bound and standing upon their plinths, vowing that he would soon return and exclaiming to one of his captives, "I gotta go!" Both girls were warned not to "try to run away, 'cause I'm not going to be very far down the road", with Schaefer claiming he was to confer with the individual he intended to sell them to. Captives' escape When Schaefer returned to the forest approximately two hours later, he discovered that both girls had escaped; he immediately returned home to call his station, where he informed Sheriff Robert Crowder: "I've done something very foolish; you'll be mad at me." Schaefer then proceeded to explain that he had decided to teach two girls "a lesson" on the risks of hitchhiking but "overdid the job". He then proceeded to explain he had abandoned the two in the general swampland area of Hutchinson Island, not far from the Indian River. Crowder and Lieutenant Melvin Waldron immediately proceeded to Florida State Road A1A, where—close by the highway—they discovered a desperate, partially-gagged teenage girl with her hands pinioned behind her back swimming via a flutter kick in a subtropical river. As the officers slowed to a halt, they observed the distraught girl clamber from the riverbank with sections of her jeans and blouse shredded, attempting to gesticulate for their attention. Upon removing the gag from the girl's mouth, the officers heard her identify herself as "Nancy", sputtering her friend was somewhere in the forest. To Trotter's relief, she was informed that a truck driver had discovered Wells staggering