Devastated daughter recalls last words to kidnapped mum who called from boot of car before being murdered
Rochelle Maze said her mother was hysterical with fear after being abducted and hit over the head
THE daughter of a woman who was kidnapped, thrown in the boot of her own car and then driven to her death has revealed her heartbreaking last conversation with her mother.
Rita Maze, made frantic phone calls to her family when she was trapped inside the vehicle and was being taken to be murdered.
Her husband Bob and daughter Rochelle alerted the police and were able to track her cell phone, but tragically they arrived too late to save the 47-year-old.
According to the Great Falls Tribune she said "a large man in a black hoodie" had hit her on the head, then kidnapped her, when she was a a rest stop near Wolf Creek, north of Helena in Montana, in the US.
Her body was discovered near Spokeane International Airport, more than 300 miles away from where she was taken, just after midnight.
Rochelle, close to tears recalled how hysterical with fear and frightened her mother was when they spoke: "She traveled with a gun, and she knew he had her gun, and she was terrified.
"He kept her in the trunk for 12 hours."
The conversation lasted for around 10 minutes, and it was to be the last they ever had together.
Breaking down Rochelle said: "I told her that I loved her. That's the last thing she heard."
She added: 'My mum touched every person she made contact with.
"She loved her grand kids so much."
Rita has recently decided to take time off work to spend with her beloved grandchildren Addyson, four, and Carly, one, the children of her son Michael, who is in the airforce, and his wife Brianne.
Police investigating the abduction are currently viewing surveillance video from a convenience store.
Maze had been in Helena visiting relatives. She was heading back to her home in Great Falls and stopped at the rest area for a break.
Her husband Bob last spoke to her at 11.25am - he thinks she was taken soon after.'
A Helena police officer was the last person to speak to Maze before she died, who told them she had been kidnapped.
There is not yet an official cause of death - cops were able to track her cellphone to find her body in the boot of her car where it had been abandoned.
The FBI is also looking into the case, as it spans two states - they would not confirm if they were investigating a person of interest in relation to the case.
Maze used to be a cook at Morningside Elementary School in Great Falls, and many have given tributes saying what a wonderful woman she was.
The former principal at Morningside, Bill Salonen, described her as having a "positive presence."