Denmark pastor’s dashcam helps capture attempted kidnapping in Aiken County

Anthony J. Moore was driving through Aiken County when a woman with her hands cuffed behind her back ran toward his truck, and the video from his dashboard camera became key evidence in an attempted kidnapping case now reaching well beyond the county line. Moore, the pastor of Amazing Grace Ministries in Denmark, is 53 and has served in the U.S. Army for 27 years; his wife, Betty O. Moore, is an associate pastor at the church.

The incident unfolded Friday, May 29, near Williston Road and Boggy Gut Road in Aiken County. Moore later provided the footage to deputies, helping document the moment the victim came into view as she fled what authorities described as a violent crime in progress. Moore said he did not see himself as a hero, framing his role as being used in a larger moment.

According to an incident report cited in later coverage, the woman was walking when a man in a green Cadillac approached her from behind, said he was with the police, took her phone and Social Security card, handcuffed her, and put her in the back seat. She later escaped by climbing over the seat and out through the open driver’s-side door while the man was at the trunk. Deputies also said witnesses believed the suspect tried to run her over as she fled, and one witness removed the toy metal handcuffs after Moore and others stopped.

Investigators arrested Jonathan Willard, 39, of New Ellenton, and charged him with kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer. He was booked into the Aiken County Detention Center, where an attempt to speak with him was denied. The case has drawn attention because the woman’s escape, the witness response, and Moore’s dashcam footage all converged quickly enough to give deputies a clearer picture of what happened.

For Bamberg County, the story lands close to home. Denmark has about 3,117 residents, Bamberg County about 13,042, and the alleged crime happened in neighboring Aiken County, a much larger county of about 179,245 people, near a corridor that sits roughly 20 miles from the Georgia border. The case is a reminder for drivers, churches, and anyone traveling rural roads to pay attention to suspicious claims of authority, keep video rolling when possible, and call deputies quickly when something does not look right.