US student Catherine Serou found dead in Russia after cryptic text saying ‘I hope I’m not being abducted’
FORMER US Marine Catherine Serou was found dead in Russia after catching a ride from a stranger and sending a cryptic text to her mom saying “I hope I’m not being abducted.”
The body of the 34-year-old was found Saturday in a wooded area near the city of Nizhny Novgorod 250 miles east of Moscow.
The former US Marine had been missing since Tuesday as she was headed back to a business to try to quickly clear up a payment issue, her mother, Beccy Serou told NPR.
The mom from Vicksburg, Mississippi told the outlet that her daughter had last texted her: “In a car with a stranger. I hope I’m not being abducted.”
State news agency RIA-Novosti cited the local court as saying the suspect gave her a ride in his car, then took her to the wooden area and beat her and stabbed her in the course of a dispute.
Russian news reports have identified the suspect as Alexander Popov and said he had a record of violent crimes.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.
Beccy Serou told NPR that her daughter was in a hurry to get to a clinic Tuesday and may have gotten into a passing car.
“I think that when she saw that the person wasnt driving to the clinic, but instead was driving into a forest, she panicked, ” Beccy Serou said.
Last week more than 100 volunteers scoured the local forests in a bid to locate Serou, before the suspect was detained, authorities said.
The US Embassy in Moscow said it is “closely monitoring” the investigation into Catherine’s death.
Serou moved from California to Russia in 2019 to study law at Lobachevsky University in Nizhny Novgorod, news reports said.
The student was in Russia also to learn the language so she could return to the United States and work as an immigration attorney.
She received a bachelor’s degree in design and a master’s in art history from the University of California at Davis, reports said.
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