Frantic woman calls family from trunk of car before death

HELENA, Mont. — A terrified Montana mother called her husband from the dark trunk of a moving car to say she had been overpowered at a highway rest stop and didn't know where she was.

The call set off a frantic search by her family and law enforcement that ended when Rita Maze's body was found Wednesday in the trunk of her car, abandoned near Spokane International Airport in Washington state.

The 47-year-old Maze had been shot to death, a medical examiner said Thursday.

Authorities and family members believe the abduction was random. A suspect has not been identified.

"It makes no sense," her 23-year-old daughter, Rochelle Maze, said. "They could have taken the car, could have taken money from her. And then they leave the car there, and that's because this is an evil monster of a person."

Bob Maze reported his wife of 26 years missing Tuesday night. She had not returned to Great Falls from a trip to her hometown of Helena 90 miles to the south, and she wasn't answering phone calls from family.

About two hours later, his phone rang. To his relief, it was his wife, but she was frantic.

While Rita Maze was on the phone with her husband, Rochelle Maze called the police officer who had taken the missing person report.

"Every single thing my mom was saying to my dad, my dad was saying out loud and I was telling the officer," the daughter said.

Law enforcement officers pinged the cellphone to help determine her location. Her family learned her bank card had been used to make purchases of about $25 at gas stations in the towns of Kingston, Idaho, and Ritzville, Washington.

Investigators have said they were looking at surveillance video from the stations. None was released Thursday.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said authorities thought they had identified a suspect from the convenience store videos, but that person has since been ruled out.

"The phone just cut out after about 10 minutes," Rochelle Maze said. "We don't know if she hung up or what."

They were not able to reach Rita Maze again. Her car was found three hours later, her body in the trunk.

It was not clear if she was knocked unconscious when she was abducted or how she came to realize she had her cellphone with her.

"By the time we contacted (police) at 8:30, she had been gone for nine hours, and we didn't even know it," Rochelle Maze said.

Rita Maze had worked as an aide, a crosswalk attendant and a cook at schools in Great Falls. She was the "lunch lady" at Morningside Elementary from 2005 to 2009. Her birthday is Sunday.

Rita Maze also is survived by a son, Michael, 25, who is in the military and stationed in Germany. He is married and has two daughters.

Investigators were checking the car for fingerprints and DNA to see if they could find a match to someone with a criminal record, Rochelle Maze said.