After the estranged boyfriend of Bethany Arceneaux kidnapped her on Wednesday, the victim’s family chose not to rely on local police to find her.

In a scene out of a movie, they discovered her ex-boyfriend, Scott Thomas, torturing Bethany in an abandoned home in Duson, Louisiana on Friday. Arceneaux’s family then shot Thomas dead to prevent her from being killed as he stabbed her, family members told KLFY television.

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Thomas, also 29, allegedly abducted Bethany near a day care center, leaving their 2-year-old child abandoned inside Bethany’s vehicle.

About a dozen family members participated in the search and rescue, searching the area she had been last seen with four-wheelers and ATVs. Family members captured much of the search on video. Images of the 29-year-old being cradled by her uncle Marcus Arceneaux as he placed her in a car have begun circulating. The Lafayette Parish police are investigating the shooting.

Watch a report on the story here.