A resident of a Fort Wayne apartment complex says she heard a man screaming at a woman to get in his trunk. The cops are now trying to piece it all together.

It started like any other quiet night—just a woman on her balcony, cigarette in hand. But within seconds, the ordinary turned unsettling. What she heard made her freeze.

Margaret Sternett says she was outside her apartment on Thursday night when a man’s voice shattered the silence. His tone wasn’t just angry. It was terrifying.

“Get in the trunk”: A horrifying exchange in the dark

Sternett lives at the Canterbury Green apartments, a large residential complex in northeast Fort Wayne. She said she’d stepped outside for a quick smoke. That’s when she heard shouting coming from the parking lot.

At first, she wasn’t sure what was happening. Arguments happen. But this felt different.

“I’ve heard people fight before,” she told local station WPTA. “But the second he started yelling at her, the tone of her voice, and the words he was using—it scared the crap out of me.”

She didn’t dare stand up. She crouched low, gripped her phone, and began recording.

The voice kept yelling. Then, according to Sternett, came a moment that made her stomach drop.

“You think he’s going to save you? I’ll f-ing kill you.”

At some point during the commotion, another neighbor stepped out. Sternett says that’s when the man turned his rage on the newcomer.

“He said something like, ‘What are you looking at him for? You think he’s going to save you? I’ll f-ing kill you,’” she recalled. The woman says the man then repeated the command for the woman to “get in the trunk.”

That was her chance.

Distracted by the other neighbor, the man seemed momentarily less focused. Sternett slipped back inside her apartment and immediately called 911.

“I didn’t want to be noticed,” she said. “I was scared. Really scared.”

Police confirm investigation underway

By Tuesday morning, Fort Wayne Police confirmed they are actively looking into the situation. A department spokesperson told local reporters that investigators had returned to the scene over the weekend.

Officers collected two pieces of potential evidence from the parking lot:

• A bicycle that had been left halfway in the road

• A single shoe

Both items were reportedly found after the car involved had left the area.

Police have not confirmed whether a crime occurred, nor have they identified any suspects or victims.

Piecing together fragments from multiple witnesses

Sternett wasn’t the only person who saw or heard what happened that night. She says another neighbor had a clearer view of the scene—one she herself only heard in bits and pieces.

According to that neighbor, there were three people involved:

• Two adult males

• One female

• A car parked in the complex

• And possibly a bike that either arrived with them—or was already there

Sternett’s still unsure about the bike. “I don’t know if it was in his trunk and he pulled it out, or if he pulled up on it,” she said.

The full sequence of events remains murky. No one seems to know for sure whether the woman was forced into the vehicle or left voluntarily. But for those who heard the man shouting, there’s little doubt that something was wrong.

Table: Known Details About the Incident

What neighbors are saying now

The incident has left residents at Canterbury Green shaken. Several told reporters they hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual that night. But once word spread, the tension in the air was hard to miss.

“You always think this stuff happens somewhere else,” one woman said while walking her dog nearby. “Now I’m walking with my phone already open to call 911, just in case.”

Another tenant, who asked not to be named, said she’d noticed more patrol cars around in recent days. “I guess that’s a good thing,” she said. “But it’s also scary. Like, was someone actually taken?”

Sternett hasn’t stopped thinking about it. “It’s been eating at me,” she said. “I keep replaying what I heard over and over. I just hope she’s okay.”

No confirmed victim, but fear remains

As of Wednesday morning, Fort Wayne Police had not announced any arrests. They also haven’t confirmed whether the woman involved has been located or identified.

The lack of clarity has only made the situation more unsettling for those living nearby. Is this a case of domestic violence? A kidnapping? A misunderstanding? Or something else entirely?

That’s still unclear.

One thing’s for sure: it wasn’t just a typical apartment parking lot argument. And Sternett, for one, wishes she could forget the sound of that man’s voice.

“I’ve never heard anyone talk to someone like that before,” she said. “Never.”