GWYNN OAK, Md. — Assaulted and abducted from in front of his Gwynn Oak home on Wednesday night, 62-year-old Joel Edwards was considered critically missing, and a day later, he is considering himself fortunate following his release.
“Hello, I’m Joel Edwards. I’d like to thank everyone for all of your prayers and concerns about getting me home safely.”
Edwards bears the marks of a man beaten down in his driveway after returning home from Maryland Live Casino as his wife saw the attack unfold on her home surveillance camera.
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“He started yelling and screaming for me so I ran outside, but I couldn’t do too much. I didn’t have any shoes on. I didn’t have anything on and he was yelling for me and he was yelling for them to get off of him.”
Two people then forced him into a van, which police found abandoned later, and drove him away.
Edwards' wife told us that police called her about midnight on Thursday and said that his captors had dropped him off in Downtown Baltimore near the Mitchell Courthouse.
While the motive for the abduction is still under investigation...
“I think it’s robbery,” his wife told us, “That’s what police were saying. I think that’s what it is. My husband is a gambler so I don’t know.”
Edwards is thankful to be re-united with his family again.
“I’m so grateful and blessed. I really would like to thank the Baltimore County Police Department, the TV news stations, the FBI and the Baltimore City Police for getting my abduction out to the public. I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work and making sure I made it home to my family safely. I really appreciate it. Thank you.”
