Kriti Mehrotra
With ‘Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields’ and ABC’s 20/20: Highway Hunter charting the eerie way several women have either disappeared or wound up dead along Interstate 45 (I-45), we get a true insight into human nature. After all, this Netflix original delves into not just the possible involvement of convicted felons like Clyde Hedrick and William Reece but also the intense efforts to bring those responsible to justice. Yet for now, there are many who simply wish to learn more about survivor Sandra Sapaugh — her ordeal, the aftermath, as well as her current likely whereabouts.
Sandra Sapaugh Was Kidnapped and Injured
It was back on the evening of May 16, 1997, when then then-19-year-old Sandra’s whole world turned upside down while she was on her way to meet a close friend at a local Houston-area restaurant. She’d actually stopped at a gas station in Webster en route, where she noticed a stranger creepily staring at her, only to not pay much attention to her overall surroundings when quickly driving away. This proved rather dangerous, though, as she found one of her tires completely slashed and had no choice but to stop across the street at a Waffle House to avoid any potential accidents.
That’s the moment the same stranger pulled in behind Sandra, offering to help — then suddenly took out a knife, placed it right on her throat, forced her into his truck, and ordered her to undress. The teen was pregnant with her third child at the time, driving her to leap from the moving dually as it raced down the Gulf Freeway portion of I-45 (between downtown Houston and Galveston). “The only thing I was thinking was like, he’s going to kill me,” she later said, according to official records. “I’d rather jump and kill myself than him doing what he was going to do. So, I jumped.”
Sandra suffered severe injuries, yet she not only successfully escaped the undeniable predator but also soon managed to tell the authorities every possible fragment to ensure his ultimate capture. However, the truth is her memories were a bit foggy at first due to the trauma, which is why she was hypnotized to help recall as much as possible once she’d provided her attacker’s description. This led to the survivor picking him from an in-person lineup without hesitation and even unveiling his license plate number — the perpetrator was thus positively identified as William Reece.
Sandra Sapaugh Prefers To Lead a Private Life
When William “Bill” Lewis Reece ultimately faced trial for abducting Sandra at knifepoint in the spring of 1998, the brave mother actually took to the stands to share her horrifying story with the world. She didn’t back down at any given moment, resulting in the jury reaching the guilty verdict on the charge of aggravated kidnapping before he was sentenced to 60 years in a State prison. Furthermore, she testified against him once again in 2021 as he stood trial on an unrelated murder count in Oklahoma, just for it to soon be confirmed that he is a serial killer, rapist, and kidnapper.
Coming to Sandra’s current standing, she has since moved on with her life to the best of her abilities and is now doing well in both a personal as well as a professional capacity. From what we can tell, she resides in La Grange, Texas, as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother, where she serves as a Notary/Notary Signing Agent. The survivor seemingly prefers to keep her last name after marriage private, likely in order to avoid the public’s attention. However, we can positively divulge that Sandra is a God-loving woman whose family, as well as all of their overall well-being, are her topmost priority.
Read More: Where is William Reece Now?
