But when they got to his house, he allegedly locked the door and attacked her with a knife, the Rowan County Sheriff's Office said. Nance allegedly said he was interested in cannibalism and threatened to mutilate the woman's dead body and display it to people driving by.
Hunter Chase Nance, 24, of China Grove, North Carolina, was slapped with multiple charges after allegedly kidnapping a woman and saying he planned to kill and mutilate her. (Rowan County Sheriff's Office)
Neighbors reportedly called 911 when they saw the woman staggering down the street after she escaped from Nance's house, according to police.
The incident left residents of the small town shocked.
"It’s unbelievable," Paula Fullbright, Nance's next-door neighbor, told the local outlet.
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China Grove, North Carolina, is a town of less than 5,000 people northeast of Charlotte. (Google Maps)
"I mean obviously it could have ended up worse," Fullbright said. "Thank God the girl was strong enough to fight him off and get away."
"You don't know who you're living next to anymore."
"Honestly, I’ve had thoughts go across my mind, ‘What if he tried to break in my house and get one of my daughters?’ That’s terrible that I even have that thought," the neighbor added. "I wish I hadn’t, but that is the reality of it right now."
China Grove, North Carolina, is approximately 35 miles northeast of Charlotte in Rowan County. (Thinkstock via Getty Images)
Richard Dawson, another neighbor, told the outlet that the incident sparked fear in the community.
"You don’t know who you’re living next to anymore," he said.
Nance is facing charges of false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and first-degree kidnapping,
He is being held under a $600,000 bond.