A man hid in the back of his former girlfriend’s minivan before assaulting her and abducting their two daughters in Cottage Grove on Friday, police said.
After an Amber Alert was issued, police arrested Jeffrey Lo and found the girls, who are safe.
Lo’s former girlfriend was taken to the hospital because of her injuries; information about her condition was not available.
The assault in the woman’s minivan happened about 6:30 a.m., and Lo then escaped with his daughters, ages 1 and 3, in her vehicle. The van was discovered about 9:30 a.m.
About an hour later, police found Lo in a wooded area near 72nd Street and Hinton Avenue, said Cottage Grove Public Safety Chief Pete Koerner. He was holding his daughters and he surrendered.
Crestview Elementary School, 7830 80th Street, imposed a “modified lockdown” Friday morning, the South Washington County School District reported. No students were in the building Friday.
There were initial reports that Lo was armed, but Koerner said officers did not locate a handgun.
WOMAN HAD ORDER FOR PROTECTION
Lo’s former girlfriend filed for an order for protection in early April and a judge granted it May 7, court records show.
In her request for the order, she said Lo had been abusive to her since the birth of their first daughter. She described an incident in March where he started pulling her hair and punching her arm because he was mad at her for sleeping on the floor instead of with him.
She tried to escape by running outside, but Lo pulled her back in by the hair and threatened to kill her if she sought help, she wrote in the petition.
He then began to refrain her from leaving the home with both their children, always insisting she leave at least one behind to ensure she returned, the woman wrote.
When she finally left him and began staying with her parents in late March, Lo started showing up at their home and trying to find her at her workplace, the petition said.
The woman indicated she believed she and her children were in imminent danger.
Lo was charged in April with fourth-degree criminal damage to property for reportedly trying to kick a taillight on a vehicle parked in her parents’ driveway last February.
The home is located on the 8000 block of Grospoint Avenue South in Cottage Grove.
He was supposed to appear for a hearing in that case May 9 but never showed up, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The no-show took place two days after his wife’s order for protection went into effect.
