Horrific New Details About What Happened To The 15-Year-Old Minnesota Girl While She Was Held Captive By 3 Men For A Month Before Escaping
Jasmine Block was held with zip ties and assaulted for 29 days.
NBC Around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 8, Jasmine Block returned home after a lot of boating with her neighbors. She had a migraine and laid down on the couch to rest while her mother, Sarah Block, left to tend to a family emergency.
When Sarah came home, Jasmine was gone. And she would stay gone for an excruciating 29 days because even with her older sister and boyfriend at home, there's was virtually no sign of Jasmine.
Shortly after the 15-year-old's disappearance, Sarah went on Dateline to plead for Jasmine to come home.
“She told me she was going to go to sleep,” Sarah told Dateline. “I told her I’d be back and to feel better. But when I got home, she wasn’t there.”
The teen's keys, phone, and purse were left inside the home. Her PJ top was laying on the floor and a pair of her shoes were gone.
After interviewing several of Jasmine's friends, police learned she was seen with two other teenagers and a man in his thirties with balding hair.
They were all riding bikes and from out of town. Police didn't suspect foul play but considered her case a vulnerable missing case people due to Jasmine's cognitive disability.
“She had been bullied a lot in the past. And her sisters always were there to stick up for her,” Sarah told Dateline. “They were inseparable.”
After days of calling out to anyone who had information about Jasmine's whereabouts, police finally found her. She was being held against her will, escaped and swam across a small lake and went to a neighbor for help.
Police arrested Thomas Barker, 32, Steven Powers, 20 and Joshua Holby, 31. According to Alexandria Police Chief Rick Wyffels, Barker is an acquaintance of Jasmine's family and approached the teen outside her home around 11 p.m. asking for help with a family situation.
Because she knew him, she got into the car and rode with him to his house.
“Once inside the home, her nightmare was just beginning,” Wyffels said. “Barker tied her up with zip-ties and then he, his roommate and a friend repeatedly assaulted Miss Block and threatened her with weapons.”
Jasmine was physically and sexually assaulted during the ordeal.
She was taken to several locations by the three men, sometimes being kept in a closet where she couldn't be seen or heard.
Then the men decided to go to lunch, and Jasmine made her escape.
She swam across a lake to a neighbor who helped her call the police and get her back to her family safe and sound. She's being treated at a hospital with minor injuries.
The men are being charged with false imprisonment, kidnapping, and assault.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).