A woman from Massachusetts opened up on how she found her love after making a home with a cowboy and kidnapper.
Explaining how she was kidnapped on her first day in Wyoming – Janelle Gibson, now 25, moved from the Boston area to work at HF Bar Ranch, a guest ranch just outside of Buffalo, Wyoming, in May 2023.
Her younger brother did accompany her on the 32 hour road trip and she then dropped him off at Gilette airport, Cowboy State Daily reported.
After taking a nap in her car she headed to a nearby Walmart at around 6am where she started going through her grocery list on her phone.
How She Met the Kidnapper
But the minute she put her cell back in her pocket, a strange man approached her and said: ‘I need to tell you something’.
The man, Alex Sigvaldsen, then 26, gave her two choices: she must either go home with him or his friends would storm in and shoot up the store, per DailyMail.
Gibson begged him ‘please not me’.
In response, Sigvaldsen told her ‘you’re going to live; I’ll let you go at the end of the day,’ according to court documents.
Gibson described the kidnapper as ‘dirty and not appealing at all,’ and said he gave off a rancid stench.
In an attempt to stall him, she told Sigvaldsen she needed to pay for her things.
When they got to the register, he instructed her to act as if they were a normal couple and kept a hand on her back as she paid.
She Mouthed HELP
In an interview with Cowboy State Daily, Gibson said she mouthed ‘help me’ to another woman in the store, who alerted Walmart employees. But they didn’t call 911 and instead just monitored the situation.
Gibson said she offered the kidnapper money in exchange for her freedom, to which he replied ‘what?’ and kissed her on the lips, per the case affidavit.
He then walked her to her car and ordered her to drive them to his house.
But thinking quickly, Gibson used her key fob to only unlock the driver’s side of the car, allowing her to leap in and speed off to the police station.
Walmart surveillance footage later obtained by the police showed Sigvaldsen attempting to get into the passenger door.
When She Got to the Ranch
Upon arriving at the ranch, Gibson was greeted by a male rancher who directed her to the office.
‘I wasn’t excited to be seeing any man, honestly,’ she told Cowboy State Daily.
Little did she know she would later end up falling in love with that very ranch hand.
She told the business what had happened to her back in Gilette, and explained that the cops may show up looking for her.
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She Got Herself a Good Life
She said her employer was very understanding of the situation and as time passed Gibson built a life for herself at the ranch.
‘I’ve always dreamed of coming out West and seeing what that life was like,’ she said. ‘I fell in love with it as soon as I got out here.’
It wasn’t until months later that the incident finally sank in, triggering waves of anxiety and panic.
Even now she said she doesn’t go anywhere alone if she can help it, and shares her location with friends at all times.
But her new ranch family and horses – especially her favorite mustang named Duke – have helped her heal.
‘I’ve been able to kind of ride my feelings away,’ she said.
Court Sentencing
Sigvaldsen pleaded guilty on March 21 to felony kidnapping and a misdemeanor police interference charge stemming from a later altercation he had with police while intoxicated. He faces up to a decade in prison.
