Guntersville Police investigating complex robbery, kidnapping case

By ELIZABETH SUMMERS The Reporter

What began as an attempted robbery turned into a much more complex case than area police expected.

According to Guntersville Police Chief Ryan Darnell, three subjects entered Griffins Jewelers while armed just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

They attempted to rob the store, but the store manager was able to fire upon the subjects who then fled from the scene in a white van southbound along U.S. 431. Published reports indicate witnesses reported three black men – one dressed as a woman and two wearing face masks – entered the store at the time of the robbery.

A short time later, Guntersville Police received a call about two missing females at Lowe’s nearby.

Officers discovered the white van allegedly used in the jewelry store incident and performed a felony take-down on the vehicle, discovering two missing females from Brighton City, which is just outside Birmingham.

Brighton Police Lt. Kenneth Hooten said the two women, 33-year-old Alma Nestor and 29-year-old Rosaneli Castro, had parked their 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan mini-van in the 4500 block of Bessemer Super Highway where they were selling water to workers headed to early-morning jobs. At about 5:30 a.m., two men unknown to the women approached the van and forced the women inside prior to leaving the scene.

At about 11 a.m., family members of the women reported to Hooten reporting contact with the victims.

“According to the victims’ families, they had been dropped off in a wooded area and they walked to a Lowe's in Guntersville,’’ Hooten said.

The robbery and abduction suspects remain at large.

“This is an ongoing investigation in conjunction with the Marshall County Major Crime Unit,” Darnell said.

“We would like to thank the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall County Drug Task Force and Albertville Police Department for their assistance.”