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‘They think I’m dead’: Man kidnapped, strangled and left tied up in truck calls 911

Posted at 7:53 PM, Dec 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-12 19:53:53-05

CLEVELAND – A man who was kidnapped, tied up and left for dead in the back of a truck managed to call Cleveland police, according to WJW.

"I need the police. I'm in the back of a truck," David Mitchell told the operator in 911 audio obtained by the news station. "They think I'm dead, but I'm not dead."

Mitchell, his voice shaking with emotion, said he got jumped from behind off of East Boulevard and thrown in the back of a pickup with the bed covered.

"I heard them talking," Mitchell said. "They were gonna dispose of my body. They think I'm dead.”

He’d been tied up and even had a plastic bag over his head that was making it difficult to breathe.

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"They strangled me, and I passed out," Mitchell told the dispatcher. "And I woke up, and I heard them talking [about] what they were gonna do to me. Help me, help me."

The caller gave police a description of where he’d been attacked, and police were able to find the truck. They also found Mitchell tied up inside just as he’d said. But that’s only part of the story.

Authorities are still investigating the mystery behind what happened. A police report indicates Mitchell may know at least some of the people involved.

He told WJW didn’t want to get into specifics and said he wanted police to get to the bottom of it.

However, he did say how he managed to call 911 – using his smartwatch.

What was going through his mind? "It was over. I thought it was over."