Nathalie Birli was tied up with duct tape, plied with alcohol and put in a bath of cold water during her ordeal.
Nathalie Birli: Triathlete survives kidnapping and convinces man to free her
Nathalie Birli was tied up with duct tape, plied with alcohol and put in a bath of cold water during her ordeal.
An Austrian triathlete has survived after a kidnapper knocked
her off her bike with his car, breaking her hand, and tried to
suffocate her.
Nathalie Birli, 27, was hit by a car in the Kumberg area of southern Austria whilst on her way to training on Tuesday, Graz police spokesman Fritz Grundnig said.
The man then tied her up with duct tape, put her into the vehicle and took her to a house where he held her for hours, police said.
"I was hit, beaten up, tied up and taken to a little house off the street - like a bad movie," she said in a Facebook post after her escape.
"Thank goodness I was able to free myself and am well except for a broken hand and a head injury well."
Ms Birli told Krone, a local newspaper, that the attacker had blindfolded her, made her drink alcohol, tried to suffocate her and forced her into a bathtub with cold water.
However, she said she eventually managed to gain his trust and convinced him to take her back home.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested.
According to Krone, the suspect kept her there for six hours, and denied trying to kill her.
The suspect told police he had been distracted when he knocked her over with his red van and then panicked, tied the woman up took her home in the backseat of his car.
Nathalie Birli, 27, was hit by a car in the Kumberg area of southern Austria whilst on her way to training on Tuesday, Graz police spokesman Fritz Grundnig said.
The man then tied her up with duct tape, put her into the vehicle and took her to a house where he held her for hours, police said.
"I was hit, beaten up, tied up and taken to a little house off the street - like a bad movie," she said in a Facebook post after her escape.
"Thank goodness I was able to free myself and am well except for a broken hand and a head injury well."
Ms Birli told Krone, a local newspaper, that the attacker had blindfolded her, made her drink alcohol, tried to suffocate her and forced her into a bathtub with cold water.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested.
According to Krone, the suspect kept her there for six hours, and denied trying to kill her.
The suspect told police he had been distracted when he knocked her over with his red van and then panicked, tied the woman up took her home in the backseat of his car.