Carol DaRonch was kidnapped by well-known mass murderer Ted Bundy. Bundy approached Carol DaRonch in a Utah shopping mall. She was looking through books at Walden Book Stores and looked up to see Bundy standing next to her. Ted Bundy, posing as a police officer, asked her if she had parked her car near the Sears store entrance, which she had. He then asked for her license plate number. He pretended to recognize it and told her that he had received a complaint that someone was trying to break into her car. Concerned, DaRonch followed Bundy out of the mall and checked her car. She assured him that nothing was missing and that she wanted to go back in the mall.
Bundy asked her to ride with him in his car and make a formal complaint at the police station. When Bundy pulled up in his VW bug, DaRonch had instincts that something was wrong. She asked to see a police badge. Bundy flashed his wallet and she saw only a bit of a gold badge; she didn't even have the time to see the name or the department.
She debated whether or not to get into the car with him but he was impatient and she finally got into the passenger seat. However, she would not buckle her seat belt because she could smell alcohol on his breath. Once in the car, Bundy drove a few miles down in the opposite direction of the police station. He stopped in front of the McMillan Grade School. When she turned to look at him, he seemed removed from her. DaRonch asked him what he was doing and got no answer so she reached for the door handle and tried to escape. Bundy caught her right wrist into a handcuff and tried to cuff the left wrist as well but only got the right one again.
DaRonch struggled with Bundy, and was screaming while hitting and scratching him. He pulled out a gun and threatened her that if she did not stop screaming he would "blow her brains out". She fell out of the car, and he dropped the gun and grabbed a crowbar. She used all the strength that she had, fought the crowbar away, kicked Bundy in his genitals, and broke free.
DaRonch ran into the street to stop the first car she saw. The persons in the car were Wilbur and Mary Walsh. She frantically attempted to get into their car. When they saw that she was a young, frightened girl, they let her in and drove her to the Murray Police Department. She then told police about her horrible experience. She was also able to give descriptive information on the crowbar, that she had felt with her hand, and the most vital evidence she had with her, the handcuffs, still attached to her right wrist.
With the escape of DaRonch, Bundy was angered and more frustrated. Later that same night, he kidnapped 17-year-old Debby Kent, who was never seen again.