PHOTO: Mario McElrath, kidnapped a victim in Chattanooga, and later ended up in Collinsville. (Collinsville Police Department)

Contributed by the Collinsville Police Department 

COLLINSVILLE, Ala. — On Friday June 2, 2017, at approximately 2:00 pm, the Collinsville Police Department received a call from Investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department about a female that had been kidnapped.

Investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department had taken a report earlier in the day that a female by the name of Brittany Boyd had been taken from behind a restaurant on Rossville Blvd in Chattanooga. Investigators from Chattanooga learned that Brittany Boyd had been taken against her will by Mario McElrath.

Investigators with Chattanooga Police Department were able to track the cellphone of Mario McElrath and discovered that the location of the phone was showing on Old North Valley Rd in Collinsville. Chattanooga Police Department Investigators requested that the Collinsville Police Department check the area based on the phones location.

Officer Ada Hamilton and Reserve Officer Amanda McCormick went to Old North Valley Rd and made contact with a white Mitsubishi Galant that had a Tennessee tag. Upon making contact with the occupants of the car, it was determined that the driver was Mario McElrath and the passenger was Brittany Boyd. Both the driver and the passenger were detained and brought to the Collinsville Police Department. Investigators from the Chattanooga Police Department were notified that they had been located and a warrant was sent to the Collinsville Police Department for Kidnapping Second Degree against Mario McElrath.

The victim, Brittany Boyd was unharmed, and Mario McElrath was transported to the DeKalb County Detention Center awaiting extradition back to Chattanooga for Kidnapping, Second Degree. I would like to commend the work done by everyone involved. This could have been a much worse situation had this female not been found as quickly as she was.