WASHINGTON COUNTY, Florida — A woman experienced a terrifying ordeal, having been beaten, threatened, and sexually assaulted by a man who then abandoned her in a storage container in Washington County, the sheriff’s office reported on social media this week.

On Monday evening, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was alerted via a 911 call from a passerby on Douglas Ferry Road who reported finding a victim of a “brutal attack.” The caller informed the police that the victim showed signs of severe beating and required medical care.

Emergency medical staff rushed to the scene. When deputies from the sheriff’s office arrived, they interviewed the victim, who recounted that 40-year-old David Earl Gipson had attacked her in her home. 

The sheriff’s office said the victim told deputies that Gipson “had visited her residence and after a few minutes became irate and started attacking her.” She told them Gipson then bound and gagged her and continued to beat and threaten her with a gun. 

The victim also told deputies that Gipson sexually battered her. 

The woman told deputies Gipson then took her back to his house and continued to abuse her in his home before putting her inside a container out in his yard, the sheriff’s office said. The woman managed to escape and make her way down to Douglas Ferry Road where she was located by the passerby. 

The woman was transported to a nearby hospital Monday night where she began treatment. 

Deputies began searching for Gipson overnight, alerting the public of his name and picture. 

About 24 hours following the first 911 call, the sheriff’s office announced that Gipson had been caught. 

“First of all, on behalf of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office we are all so sorry that this horrific event has happened to this family,” Sheriff Kevin Crews said. 

Crews said Gipson was apprehended in a wooded area just north of Douglas Ferry Road after an “around the clock” search. 

“May all our prayers be with this family at this time as we continue to work through this investigation for a successful prosecution,” he added.