Wild tale of Boston woman, 25, who was kidnapped by stranger threatening to ... trends now
A Massachusetts woman has revealed how she was kidnapped on her first day in Wyoming - but ended up making a home in the cowboy state after finding love.
Janelle Gibson, now 25, moved from the Boston area to work at HF Bar Ranch, a guest ranch just outside of Buffalo, Wyoming, in May 2023.
Her younger brother accompanied her on the 32 hour road trip and she then dropped him off at Gilette airport, Cowboy State Daily reported.
After taking a nap in her car she headed to a nearby Walmart at around 6am where she started going through her grocery list on her phone.
But the minute she put her cell back in her pocket, a strange man approached her and said: 'I need to tell you something'.
The man, later identified as Alex Sigvaldsen, then 26, gave her two choices: she must either go home with him or his friends would storm in and shoot up the store.
Janelle Gibson (pictured), 25, from Massachusetts was kidnapped on her first day in Wyoming while on her way to her first day as a rancher at HF Bar Ranch
Despite a bad first impression of Wyoming, she fell in love with a rancher on the farm and built a life for herself out west
Sigvaldsen pleaded guilty on March 21 to felony kidnapping and a misdemeanor police interference charge
Gibson recalled how she begged the man 'please not me'.
In response, Sigvaldsen told her 'you're going to live; I'll let you go at the end of the day,' according to court documents.
Gibson described the kidnapper as 'dirty and not appealing at all,' and said he gave off a rancid stench.
In an attempt to stall him, she told Sigvaldsen she needed to pay for her things.
When they got to the register, he instructed her to act as if they were a normal couple and kept a hand on her back as she paid.
In an interview with Cowboy State Daily, Gibson said she mouthed 'help me' to another woman in the store, who alerted Walmart employees. But they didn't call 911 and instead just monitored the situation.
Gibson said she offered the kidnapper money in exchange for her freedom, to which he replied 'what?' and kissed her on the lips, per the case affidavit.
He then walked her to her car and ordered her to drive them to his house.
But thinking quickly, Gibson used her key fob to only unlock the driver's side of the car, allowing her to leap in and speed off to the police station.
Walmart surveillance footage later obtained by the police showed Sigvaldsen attempting to get into the passenger door.
Although shaken, Janelle continued to HF Bar Ranch to start her new job and investigators said they would keep her updated on the
