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Suspected Captor Allegedly Forces Missing OC Woman To Make Credit Card Purchases

LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA.com) —A 69-year-old Dana Point woman who went missing Tuesday may have been kidnapped by a man who is forcing her to make credit card purchases at local gas stations.

Cheryl Jean Moser was last seen with her two dogs around 8 a.m. at her home located at 33282 Palo Alto Street.

She was headed to a Verizon store in Highland to buy a new phone, but employees said she never made it, according to Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

Amormino said Moser's credit cards were used several times, sometimes with charges up to $60, after Tuesday morning in Pomona, the San Fernando Valley and in Orange County.

About 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, a security camera at a Mobil station at 104 N. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach captured images of Moser with an unknown man. Investigators said she charged her card there again.

Around noon, a witness told an employee at a Pomona gas station that he saw Moser with the suspect.

Authorities believe Moser is being held against her will.

Family members said they don't want to believe she's been taken.

"I never thought anything like this could happen. I'm hoping she's all right and she'll be back soon," Moser's son, Brian Johnson, told CBS2's Stacey Butler.

The woman is described as Caucasian, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 190 pounds.

Moser was last seen driving in her 2008 Toyota Prius with license plate number 6DRW653. A spare tire was on the passenger side front wheel.

The white or Hispanic suspect is between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin build, shaved head and numerous tattoos on his right arm.

He was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans.

Anyone with information about Moser's whereabouts was asked to call (714) 628-7170.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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