Couple at center of search for ‘screaming, bloody woman’ in semi truck say it was a huge misunderstanding

The man and woman at the center of a recent search for a white bobtail semi truck have both been found safe, investigators say. 

The search for a reportedly ‘screaming and bloody’ woman in a semi truck began on Wednesday, August 3rd and continued until 5:10 p.m. on Thursday, August 4th. The truck and couple were found near Middlesex and Union Counties in New Jersey. 

MidJersey News reports that Gabrielli Truck Sales located on Route 130 was able to provide clear enough footage to allow for officers to identify the truck, man, and woman involved in the incident. Police were eventually able to locate the truck and witnessed a man matching the suspect’s description exit the vehicle. Detectives then approached the man, and eventually found the woman involved in the incident at the same location. 

Both the unnamed man and woman agreed to come to police headquarters for further investigation. Detectives were scheduled to speak with both of them on Thursday evening, when the reality of the events came to light. 

The couple told police that the woman had fallen and hit her head while standing in the moving truck, causing extensive bleeding. The male driver stopped the truck to check on the woman, who called out for help, and then promptly pulled the woman back inside to rush her to a hospital. 

The couple then decided to stop at a warehouse where they had some friends help them put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Police then matched the couple’s story to text messages and selfies from the woman’s phone sent during the same time period as the search. The woman has since been treated and will make a full recovery, but the couple says they never had any idea that they were the center of a massive search, reported ABC 7.

“Too often in our profession outcomes are sad,” said Deputy Chief James Ryan of the South Brunswick Police Department. “The fact that she’s safe, the fact that we have all the parties here, we’ll take success when we can.”