WILMINGTON — A Wilmington cab driver was kidnapped yesterday by a passenger claiming she was holding a knife to the back of his head.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Wilmington police responded to a kidnapping in
progress. According to police, Schnique Miller flagged down a Port City Taxi at 16th and Market and requested transportation to Jacksonville.
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“When the driver asked for an address, Miller claimed she didn’t know it off the top of her head and instructed him to begin driving toward Jacksonville while she looked for it,” according to a WPD release. “As they drove along, the cab driver became suspicious and told Miller that, unless she could provide an address, he was going to stop and put her out on the side of the road. They were near 2300 Market Street at the time. Miller told him she had a knife to the back of his head and that he better continue driving until she told him to stop.”
The driver told officers he never saw a knife but heard a sound that was consistent with a knife opening, according to police.
“At that point, Miller began ‘talking crazy’ and the victim feared for his life. He managed to key up the radio in the cab so his dispatch center could hear what was happening. Dispatch called 911 and reported their driver was being held hostage. By that time the cab was well into the county headed toward Jacksonville,” according to the release.
New Hanover County Sheriff’s deputies located the cab and performed a traffic stop at the New Hanover and Pender County line. The driver exited the vehicle and Miller was then detained. She did not have a knife in her possession.
“However, the suspect admitted to having a cigarette lighter, which may have produced the sound the victim heard,” the release stated.
Miller was charged with kidnapping and is being held at the New Hanover County Jail.
