Suspect Arrested in Kidnaping of Local Realtor

A man suspected of kidnaping and sexually assaulting a Val Verde real estate agent was arrested early Wednesday morning at a topless-dancing club in Ogden, Utah, when he allegedly displayed a handgun to one of the dancers, authorities said.

Timothy Daniel Shue, 38, is accused of abducting Paula Harrington, 26, at gunpoint on June 29 by posing as a prospective home buyer. Harrington was found three days later tied to a bed in a motel in Gila Bend, Ariz., a small town 68 miles southwest of Phoenix.

Federal officials believe Shue raped and robbed several other women at gunpoint across the United States, with the most recent incident occurring June 23 in Medford, Ore., according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent William Ayers. In each incident, the victim’s credit and automatic teller cards were taken.

Ogden police officers arrested Shue at about 2 a.m. Wednesday at the Ladies of Lace club, said Jack Callahan, a spokesman for the FBI’s Phoenix office. Shue did not resist.

He “was displaying a pistol to one of the dancers, who reported it to her manager, who in turn called the police,” Callahan said.

Shue did not point the small-caliber handgun at the dancer, said Capt. Marlin Ball of the Ogden Police Department. “It was more or less, ‘Look what I’ve got,’ ” Ball said.

Harrington, who is vacationing in Lake Tahoe with her husband, Chris, said she was relieved when police officials called her husband Wednesday to report the arrest.

Shue “knew where I lived and he knew where I worked,” she said.

Shue, who has used numerous aliases since becoming a fugitive, was arrested under a false name, Ball added. Ogden police found identification with his true name while booking him into custody. A computer check revealed federal warrants for fraud and unlawful flight in a Wyoming, Mich., case in which he is suspected in the abduction of a woman and unauthorized use of her credit card last month.

Shue appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City Wednesday afternoon on the Michigan charges, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Paul Warner. Shue will likely be formally charged with the Harrington kidnaping Thursday when a warrant arrives from the FBI in Los Angeles, and will be arraigned Friday, Warner said.

Shue was held in Salt Lake County Jail without bail while federal officials determine what other criminal charges may be sought against him, Warner said.

Shue came to the real estate office where Harrington and other employees were working at about 2 p.m. last Wednesday and asked to look at homes in Val Verde, a community several miles northwest of Santa Clarita. Harrington said she felt no fear as she accompanied Shue in his Jeep to five homes in the area. She was tied up at gunpoint at the last house.

A co-worker became suspicious about 2 1/2 hours later when Harrington did not return, drove to the area and found a Jeep similar to Shue’s outside the house where Harrington was apparently kidnaped. The co-worker noted the license number and went to a neighbor’s house to call police, but the Jeep was gone when she returned.

Police, family and friends conducted a massive search of the area the next morning for Harrington, but the search was called off when investigators discovered she had made a $300 withdrawal from an automatic teller machine in Hacienda Heights several hours after she disappeared.

A witness told officials he saw a man take a woman resembling Harrington from the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee and force her to walk to the ATM. Another attempt to withdraw money using Harrington’s credit card was made last Thursday at an ATM in El Centro, according to court documents.

Harrington was found at about 10:30 a.m. Friday at the El Coronado motel in Gila Bend when her cries for help were heard by a maid. At about the same time, a man called Harrington’s office and told a co-worker where she could be located.

Harrington identified Shue as her kidnaper Saturday through mug shots shown to her by police officials.

Harrington said she and her husband had put off having children so they could focus on their careers, but the kidnaping has persuaded them to start a family and spend less time at work.

She admits rebuilding her life won’t be easy--thoughts about her ordeal haunt her--but said she will seek therapy and do whatever else it takes to persevere.

“I’m not going to let him destroy my life,” she said. “I have a lot to live for. God gave me a second chance.”