In what is now becoming an unfortunate, all too common occurence, another real estate agent has been assaulted.

In Lake Whitney, Texas a local real estate agent went on an appointment to list a home. She was meeting a man who identified himself as the person responsible for disposing of his late parents’ home. The agent, upon meeting the man at the home, was kidnapped, tied up, blindfolded and taken to the man’s home where he sexually assaulted her and called her relatives to demand a ransom for her safe return.

The Bosque County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, with the assistance of a helicopter from another nearby county spotted the agent’s car parked in the driveway of the home she where she had the listing appointment, but could not find any trace of the woman at that residence.

Responding to a call to the McLennan County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, deputies found the woman at a residence three blocks from where she was abducted. She was taken to a Waco, Texas hospital and was treated and released.

The suspect reportedly had stolen his roommate’s pickup truck and was spotted a short time later and was arrested and taken into custody.

Forty-four-year-old Timothy Maurice Smith of Morgan, Texas is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and is being held in lieu of $120,000 bond.

Real estate agents need to be very careful in hosting open houses, visiting vacant properties and meeting men without an associate present.

Your safety and security should not be taken lightly. As we have seen lately in the news, it can happen to you if you are not careful and prepared.