COCHISE COUNTY, AZ — A man is in custody Saturday afternoon in connection to a homicide and kidnapping investigation in Cochise County.
Officials began looking for 37-year-old Rynn Prairie-Rocca Friday night after Cochise County Sheriff's Office received reports of a woman who had been kidnapped in the community of Pearce, about 85 miles east of Tucson.
The victim, a 75-year-old woman, told deputies that she was at her home around 3 p.m. when a man wearing a mask and dark clothing came into her workshop armed with a handgun. The man allegedly forced the woman into the home and restrained her while blindfolding her, officials say. The woman told deputies that she heard several loud noises shortly after but did not know what was happening.
After dark, officials say the woman was moved into her own vehicle and was put into the backseat. When the vehicle stopped, the woman was able to get out of her restraints and run to a nearby residence to get help.
Officials say the victim believed her boyfriend would be at her home and asked that deputies contact him to let him know she was going to a hospital to get treatment for minor wounds she received during the incident.
Deputies made their way into the victim's home, where a 67-year-old man was found dead.
Deputies then began searching for Prairie-Rocca, issuing a shelter in place after it was found he was barricaded in the area of Catclaw Road and AZ-181. He was ultimately taken into custody Saturday afternoon and was taken to the Cochise County Jail.
