Southbridge man charged with kidnapping lured woman using dog walking app, police say

A Southbridge man was arrested and charged with kidnapping after a woman said that he lured her to his home using a dog walking app.

Mark Miller, 62, was arraigned earlier this week in Dudley District Court. He pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charge. Miller posted bail and was ordered to have no contact with the victim. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 14.

Last Friday just after 8 p.m., a woman came into the Southbridge police headquarters and told officers about what had allegedly happened to her earlier in the night.

She was contacted for a dog walking job through the Rover app by another woman, she said. But when she arrived at the residence on Belmont Street, she was instead greeted by a man later identified as Miller. He met her outside and escorted her into the home, according to a police report.

Inside, the woman found the house to be very dark and she began to feel uneasy. She said she quickly realized that the woman who purportedly contacted her online and the dogs in question were not in the home. Miller allegedly immediately positioned himself against the entrance of the home, spreading his arms out and giving the woman the impression that he was trying to block the door. He blocked the door for about five minutes, the woman told officers.

She said she attempted to move toward the door several times, but Miller allegedly continued to get in her way. He allegedly began to make statements such as “I don’t bite” and “go upstairs” to the woman. He tried to convince her to go up a set of stairs that was closed off by a padlocked door, according to the report.

When Miller made a motion toward the stairs, the woman quickly moved toward the front door and escaped, police said. She reported the incident to Rover, blocked the suspicious profile on the app, and then went to the police station, according to the report.

Police conducting a follow-up investigation identified Miller as a potential suspect and showed the woman an array of eight photos, showing Miller and others. The woman immediately identified Miller as the suspicious man and told police that she was certain it was him.

When police interviewed Miller and asked what he did that day, he initially omitted the incident involving the victim. He eventually gave details about the interaction but provided contradictory information about his dogs, how long the interaction lasted, and where he stood in the home, according to the report.

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