BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – A Baker County woman described the weekend terror that she and a friend survived.
Shauna Mills was tied up and held at gunpoint and Tara Evans was kidnapped and shot, according to the Baker County Sheriff's Office.
"It could have been so much worse. It could've been deadly," Mills told News4Jax on Monday. "We just thank God that we are alive."
Though Mills was not injured, her close friend, Evans, was taken to UF Health hospital in Jacksonville and underwent multiple surgeries.
Mills was so shaken up that she didn't want to show her face on camera, but said she wanted to share the nightmare that she and her friend lived through.
Mills said she was with her close friend, Evans, at Evans' Baker County home Saturday night when all of a sudden Evans' estranged husband barged in.
Deputies said Ricky Tisdale, 37, tied up Mills and forced Evans at gunpoint to leave the home with him.
Mills said her arms and legs were bound, so she had to roll to a neighbor's house to get help.
"I was trying to find something to get loose with. I couldn't stand. The only thing that I could think of was to get out of the house and try to go get help. So the only thing I could do was to roll," Mills recounted. "So, I just rolled and then I would stop and say a prayer, roll again, stop and say a prayer again. I fixed myself up on the door and used my head to bang on the door to get them to come to the door."
The neighbor then called 911, alerting deputies to what had just happened next door.
"It was just, like, 'Where is she? What is he going to do?'" Mills said.
According to the incident report, when deputies found Evans early Sunday morning in the car she had been kidnapped in, she had been shot and was badly hurt.
Deputies said arrested Tisdale on charges of home invasion robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, violation of domestic violence injunction, grand theft of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Court records show Evans obtained a domestic violence injunction against Tisdale in April and filed for divorce on May 31. According to court records, she tried to get an injunction versus him in November, but it was denied.
"If you're involved in a domestic relationship, it can get crazy. Believe that they might hurt you. Get away," Mills said. "Do everything you can to get away. Don't stick around and you can't play nice."
Evans' friends said they can't believe what happened.
"Her children -- it's just a hard pill to swallow for them to see their mom like," said Theresa Wilcox, who has known Evans for 25 years. "We're just in total shock still, which is understandable. We just want justice to be served."
As of Monday, Evans remained in the hospital and hopes to be released by her birthday, which is this weekend.
Resources for domestic violence victims are available throughout Northeast Florida:
- Hubbard House (Baker and Duval counties): hubbardhouse.org or 904-354-3114
- Family Life Center (Flagler County): familylifecenterflagler.org or 386-437-3505
- Micah's Place (Nassau County): micahsplace.org or 904-225-9979
- Betty Griffin Center (St. Johns County): bettygriffincenter.org or 904-824-1555
- Quigley House (Clay County): quigleyhouse.org or 904-284-0061
- Lee Conlee House (Putnam County): leeconleehouse.org or 386-325-3141
- Peaceful Paths (Bradford, Alachua & Union counties): peacefulpaths.org or 352-377-8255