(CNN) When a woman walked up to the counter of a McDonald's in Lodi, California, the employees likely expected her to order a Big Mac or large fries. Instead, she begged them to help her.

The woman told an employee to call 911, gave them her license plate number and asked them to hide her, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post

A police investigation would later reveal that she was traveling with a man who had a history of abusing her. That day, he had threatened her with a firearm and demanded that she drive him to see his family.

After using the McDonald's restroom, the woman tried to approach the counter again to make an order, police said. But the man she was traveling with stopped her and demanded that she use the drive-thru.

Even in the drive-thru, the woman continued to send distressed messages to employees, mouthing "help me" through the window to a restaurant worker, police said.

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