A 66-year-old woman was found in SC lake. A kidnapper threw her in, she told police

A nuclear station security officer is being credited with rescuing a kidnapped South Carolina woman, after he spotted her floating in Lake Keowee on Sunday, media outlets report.

The 66-year-old victim told authorities she had been pushed into the lake by a man who kidnapped her nearly three hours earlier.

The woman, who has not been identified, told Oconee County deputies the ordeal began at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, when a man in an orange mask approach her outside her Pickens County home, media outlets report. She was getting into her vehicle at the time, reported WSPA.

After nearly two and a half hours of driving around to various sites near the lake, the man told her to stop near a bridge on S.C. 183 in Oconee County, He then forced her to get out and follow him to a wooded area near the water's edge, where he pushed her into the lake, the station reported. reported Fox Carolina.

A security officer from the Oconee Nuclear Station saw the woman in the water near the facility’s property and was able to help her, The security guard was not identified. reported TV station WYFF.

Pickens County deputies told media outlets they were alerted to the incident around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, when the Oconee County Sheriff's Office reported finding her abandoned Jeep Cherokee on Highway 183, near the nuclear station, reported the Greenville News.

Investigators have not released information on a motive, according to the release. The man described as about 6' tall, medium build, and was wearing a blue sweat shirt and black pants, media outlets report.

This story was originally published April 16, 2018 at 3:01 PM with the headline "A 66-year-old woman was found in SC lake. A kidnapper threw her in, she told police."