A witness to an alleged abduction is speaking out on what he says he saw last Thursday at a Henrietta hotel.

“I woke up to a loud commotion, banging and screaming," said Jodee Burkett of Rochester.

Burkett described a chaotic scene of what officials say was a woman being taken from the Microtel Hotel on Lehigh Station Road against her will. Surveillance video shows her fighting and kicking in an attempt to get away.

What You Need To Know

  • Two men linked to the alleged kidnapping of a woman from a hotel are facing felony grand jury indictment, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office

  • A witness to the alleged abduction is speaking out on what he says he saw last Thursday at a Henrietta hotel

  • Deputies say the victim was sent to the hospital and is now receiving services

“The whole time I’m just hearing screams for help,” said Burkett who was staying overnight at the Microtel in a room with a view. “And I really did not know whether or not it was real or not. It woke me up right out of my sleep. So I just immediately looked outside."

Burkett says he watched the events unfold about 20 to 30 feet in front of him.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office released the hotel security footage showing a woman and a man forcibly dragging the woman out of the hotel lobby.

“So I just saw a girl being pulled out of the front door of the hotel,” Burkett said. “They dragged her, opened up the backseat and threw her into the car. She actually kicked the backseat open and managed to get halfway out of the car. I really thought she was going to get out of there. But I’m assuming they either grabbed her by the hair or some kind of clothing that she had on her and just held on to her and literally drove off with her halfway out the door.”

There wasn’t enough time for Burkett to get outside and intervene, but he says he immediately called 911.

“I couldn’t get the license plate of the car, but I actually remember the entire description of the car so that’s what I called the cops with,” he said. “I led with the description of the car so I didn’t forget it and I told them which way they were going.”

By day's end, authorities say they tracked down and apprehended the suspects and rescued the kidnap victim.

Cordell Brooks and Shuntiayana Sims are each charged with kidnapping and assault and a grand jury has indicted both suspects on one felony count, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office. More information is expected to be released on the case once the grand jury rises. 

"I kept thinking about her throughout the whole day,” Burkett said. “I don’t know who she is, where she’s from, none of that stuff [but] I just hope she’s OK.”

Deputies say the victim was sent to the hospital and is now receiving services.

“I got two daughters, so I would advise people [to] keep the women in your life close to you, always protect them, keep your arms over them, everything like that,” Burkett said. “As far as I’m concerned, I can’t even imagine if anything like that happened to a woman in my family. I was raised by a woman. And like I said, I got two daughters. I got all sisters. So when I see something like that, it’s terrible. It really is.”