‘Terrifying’ abduction of barefoot ex sends California man to prison, feds say

A 45-year-old California man was sentenced to 25 years in prison following a “harrowing” abduction of his ex and two other people, federal prosecutors reported.

George Gene Rose of Humboldt County pleaded guilty to kidnapping and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Oregon said in a news release.

In August 2020, Rose kidnapped his ex-dating partner and two others using a stolen shotgun, prosecutors said. He bound their hands and feet and placed duct tape over their faces.

When one person tried to break free, Rose hit them with the shotgun, the release said.

Rose forced his three abductees into a stolen pickup truck in rural Northern California, where he ordered two of the three from his truck and told them to walk to a house two miles away, the release said.

He took his ex, who was barefooted, to a forest in Oregon where he repeatedly threatened to kill his ex and himself, prosecutors said.

Three days later, his ex convinced Rose to turn himself in, the release said. The ex knocked on the door of a farmhouse and negotiated with police for Rose’s surrender.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Tuesday, May 17.

“We hope this sentence will bring some measure of peace and closure for these victims after this harrowing ordeal,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. He called the crime “callous and terrifying.”

“His actions were cold-blooded and egregious and physical and emotional violence of this kind will not be tolerated,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon.

This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 1:58 PM with the headline "‘Terrifying’ abduction of barefoot ex sends California man to prison, feds say."