Palatine man charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting woman in Lake Barrington

Police on Wednesday apprehended a 20-year-old Palatine man accused of kidnapping, battering and sexually assaulting a woman in Lake Barrington.

Ryan Storm, of the 500 block of West Gilbert Road in Palatine, is charged with felony aggravated kidnapping, three counts of felony aggravated criminal sexual assault, felony aggravated battery and felony unlawful restraint, among other charges.

Lake County sheriff's Lt. Christopher Covelli said a person received a call from Storm early Wednesday morning that seemed strange.

The person decided to check on Storm's well-being by going to his workplace on the 28000 block of Commercial Avenue in Lake Barrington. There, the person saw Storm run away and found a battered woman who had been bound to a piece of heavy equipment, Covelli said.

Sheriff's officers were dispatched to the business at 2 a.m. Wednesday. The woman was taken to the hospital and is recovering from her injuries, Covelli said.

Area police, including members of the Lake County and McHenry County sheriff's offices and the Fox River Grove, Cary, Barrington and Barrington Hills police departments launched a large manhunt to find Storm.

After 8 a.m., a Fox River Grove police officer spotted Storm running on the 900 block of Ski Hill Road. The officer chased and apprehended Storm, Covelli said.

Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg gave credit to the person who checked in on Storm after receiving the strange phone call.

"I firmly believe that the victim's life was saved because of the gut feeling the caller had and the caller taking the further step of checking on the situation in the middle of the night," he said. "That, in conjunction with terrific law-enforcement collaboration, saved the victim's life and allowed us to take the offender into custody."