Maryland woman plunged into Taken-style nightmare after asking for tissue in Tunisian hotel lobby
A Maryland woman was left battered and bruised after allegedly surviving a horrific kidnapping while on a trip in Northern Africa.
Jameka Ivy, 31, was on vacation with her friend in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, when she was allegedly abducted from her hotel lobby.
In a scene reminiscent of the hit Liam Neeson film Taken, Ivy said she had returned to The Penthouse Suites Hotel after a night out at a club, but can only remember asking the front desk for tissue before she woke up in the back of car.
In the film, Neeson's teenage daughter and her friend are abducted by sex traffickers in Paris after sharing a cab with a stranger.
Ivy explained in a viral TikTok post she that stopped at the front desk to get a working key for her room, but once she got inside the suite, she realized there were no tissues and went back down to the lobby to ask for some.
'That is the last thing I remember, being at the front desk. The next thing I remember is waking up in the back of a f**king car,' she said.
'I start freaking the f**k out, I'm trying to get out... Once I get out, this guy, he got out of the car and we're tussling, we're f**king fighting. I'm f**king fighting for my life. All I kept thinking about was my f**king kids man, I got to get back home to my kids.
She said the kidnapper punched her in the face and tried to cover her mouth while she fought back.
Horrific photos show Ivy with two black eyes and covered in cuts and bruises across her whole body.
Jameka Ivy (pictured), 31, was left battered and bruised after allegedly surviving a horrific kidnapping while on a trip to Tunisia
Horrific photos show Ivy suffered two black eyes and is covered in cuts and bruises across her whole body
Ivy claimed she was able to escape the attacker's clutches and said she ran through a wooded area until she found a busy road where a she flagged down a taxi which took her back to the hotel where her friend Queen was waiting.
Queen told Fox 5 that she was desperately trying to locate Ivy, but the hotel staff claimed she had 'made a friend' and left.
'And I'm like, "How can she make a friend? She doesn’t speak these languages,"' Queen said.
The women said the hotel refused to show them any surveillance footage and declined to call the police.
Queen said she tried to get the hotel staff, but they insisted nothing happened. 'They're like, "This didn’t happen here. We don't know what you're talking about,"' she said.
Ivy claimed the hotel told her that she got 'snatched from the club,' but she argued that her purse and cellphone, which she took to the club, were in her hotel room when she was kidnapped.
'They did not expect for me to make it back to that hotel,' she said.
Eventually, Ivy was able to contact the US Embassy and they showed up at the hotel with police officers.
Ivy's friend Queen (left) said she was desperately trying to locate Ivy, but the hotel staff claimed she had 'made a friend' and left
She said the kidnapper punched her in the face and tried to cover her mouth while she fought back
Ivy said she was abducted from the lobby of The Penthouse Suites Hotel in Tunis (pictured) after asking for tissues
Ivy's experience was like a scene out of the hit Liam Neeson film Taken, where his character's daughter is abducted into sex trafficking while on trip to Paris
The status of the police investigation is not immediately clear. Daily Mail contacted the hotel and the US Embassy for more information.
The Penthouse Suites Hotel in Tunis is a five-star hotel with lavish amenities and a standard room rate of approximately $200 per night.
Ivy has set up a GoFundMe to help cover her medical and legal expenses after the incident.
'I woke up in a situation I never imagined I’d face, and to this day I am still processing the trauma and working to gather the facts of what happened,' she said.
'Since that night, I’ve been doing everything I can to stay safe and to start the long process of recovery.
'I have reported the incident to local authorities and I am pursuing legal action, but I need help covering the costs of that process as well as the immediate supports I require to heal.'
The US government advises travelers to Tunisia to exercise increased caution due to the threat of terrorism, according to the State Department.
