BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NORWOOD -- A man told police he was robbed and then locked in his trunk for nearly two days before freeing himself with a knife and help from a passer-by.
Lawyer B. North Jr., 58, of Tamarack Avenue, Evanston, was dazed and suffering from dehydration as he emerged from the trunk of his white Ford Tempo early Tuesday near the Seven Hills School off Red Bank Road in Columbia Township, police Capt. Tom Williams said. He was not seriously injured.
Capt. Williams said Mr. North's ordeal began about noon Sunday at the BP Service Station at Madison and Edwards roads. As he was loading soft drinks into his trunk, a man wearing a black baseball cap backward and a plaid shirt robbed him and forced him into the trunk. He eventually was left near the school.
With daytime temperatures in the mid-80s, the temperature in the trunk reached close to 100 degrees, Capt. Williams estimated. Mr. North found a folding knife stored in the trunk and used it to jimmy the lock.
About 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Capt. Williams said, a passer-by saw the Tempo's trunk lid bouncing. He stopped and helped Mr. North out.
Mr. North was treated at Good Samaritan Hospital and released. Contacted later at home, Mr. North declined to comment.
Gary Lindner, manager of the company-owned BP station, said he was not there when Mr. North was abducted. He said other employees were present, but it was a busy time of the day and no one saw it happen.
Capt. Williams did not divulge how much money was taken. Anyone with information about the robbery can call Norwood police at 396-8222.
