Man sentenced to more than 10 years for kidnapping elderly female, who saved herself

By Dean Hensley

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A man charged in 2023 with kidnapping an elderly woman faces more than 10 years in prison, and his co-conspirator is still awaiting sentencing following her conviction last week.

According to an April 14 news release by Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Jordan Nathaniel Hedden, 32, was sentenced to 121 months (just over 10 years) in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for the 2023 kidnapping of a 71-year-old female. His co-conspirator, Stephanie Miranda Neace, 32, of Blairsville, Georgia, was convicted of kidnapping and is still awaiting sentencing, the release said.

Court records show the victim was driving from Georgia to North Carolina when she saw both of the defendants walking. Since it was November and cold outside, she offered them a ride. Soon after they entered North Carolina, Hedden told the victim to drive to his car. When they got to the location Hedden said the car was at, there wasn’t a car.

Hedden then told the victim to stop the car, and when the victim didn’t, Hedden forced the victim to stop the car and get in the back seat, according to court documents. Hedden took over driving, and the victim began to cry. Hedden yelled at her and told her to shut up.

Fletcher man arrested on 10 counts of 3rd-degree exploitation of a minor Records said Hedden appeared “high and agitated” and became paranoid that the victim had a tracking device. At one point, Hedden stopped the car, and he and Neace searched the victim and the car for a tracking device. They then took the victim’s phone and disabled it.

Hedden also demanded money from the victim, but according to court records, the victim said she had just $2. Fearing for her safety, the victim told the defendants to take her to an ATM and the defendants agreed. During the drive into Tennessee, Hedden made the victim promise that she would not identify them to the police, court records said.

During the drive to the ATM, the victim convinced Hedden to let her withdraw money from a gas station ATM instead of a bank. The victim also told Hedden that she would give the defendants the money if they let her stay behind safely at the gas station. When they arrived at the gas station, the victim took her purse and her car key fob. She told Hedden to turn off the car so the headlights could not be seen from the people inside the gas station, and Hedden complied.

This turned out to be a pivotal decision.

As the victim and Hedden were walking toward the gas station, the victim began to run to the door and scream for help. Hedden ran back to the car, attempted to use it to flee, but was unable to start the car without the key fob. Hedden and Neace then fled on foot and escaped into the woods but were apprehended days later, according to court records.

On November 13, 2024, Hedden pleaded guilty to kidnapping and aiding and abetting. He is now in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility, the news release said.

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