Man, 37, arrested after allegedly kidnapping elderly woman in Ariz. home invasion — and her boyfriend is found dead

A gun-wielding maniac is behind bars after he allegedly kidnapped an elderly Arizona woman whose boyfriend was found dead after a terrifying home invasion that led police on an hours-long manhunt.

Rynn Prairie-Rocca, 37, was arrested Saturday afternoon after a 75-year-old woman reported that she was taken from her Pearce home by a masked gunman around 3 p.m. on Friday, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. 

Police said Prairie-Rocca was wearing a ski mask and dark clothing when he entered a workshop near the back of the victim’s house and forced her inside her home at gunpoint.

He then restrained and blindfolded the senior victim before shoving her into the backseat of her car and driving off, cops said. 

The woman told deputies that she heard several loud noises in her house, which she shared with her 67-year-old partner, shortly after being restrained.

The victim managed to escape from the car and flee to a nearby residence where she called the police just after 8 p.m.

The woman, who suffered minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital, asked deputies to notify her boyfriend of the situation, said police, who later found the man’s lifeless body inside their home.

The man’s name has not been released.  

Authorities took Prairie-Rocca, who was shirtless, into custody after a barricade incident Saturday morning near Catclaw Road and Arizona Highway 181, roughly 50 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border.

The situation left neighboring residents sheltering in place for nearly three hours, police said.

“Thank you to all of the responding agencies for their dedication and professionalism to bring this incident to a successful conclusion,” Sheriff Mark J. Dannels said.

Prairie-Rocca is being held at the Cochise County Jail.