MICHAEL Bloomberg’s housekeeper was rescued in a raid by a SWAT team after a gunman is said to have kidnapped her who had “wanted to take the billionaire’s daughters”.
Joseph Beecher, 48, was arrested at the Stagecoach Motel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after armed cops forced their way into his room and conducted a hostage rescue.
Beecher is accused of storming Bloomberg’s $44.8million Colorado ranch in Rio Blanco County and searching for the former New York City mayor’s daughters before allegedly kidnapping the housekeeper Amanda Edinger.
Edinger claimed Beecher had gone to the ranch so he could “make an international scene” with Bloomberg, 79, or his daughters, according to an arrest affidavit.
Footage shows cops surrounding the motel before storming it and arresting Beecher.
Edinger, 46, was not harmed but claimed Beecher had kissed her on the forehead and said she would be dead if she had been a man.
She has now been reunited with her family.
Beecher faces multiple charges including kidnapping, felony menacing and others, in both Colorado and Wyoming.
He is currently being held without bail.
While Edinger was being held, Beecher is reportedly said to have told her he had gone to Meeker airport in July looking for Bloomberg.
She also claimed he had referred to his two adult daughters – Emma, 42, and Georgina, 39 – by name when he asked about their whereabouts.
The sheriff’s office in Rio Blanco County, where the ranch is located, said in a statement that Beecher had no connection to the Bloombergs or the alleged victim.
It said his motive for going to the ranch, which was purchased in April 2020 for $44.8 million, was being investigated.
Bloomberg is reportedly co-operating with officials.
Beecher, from Craig, Colorado, is said to have arrived at Bloomberg’s ranch at around 10.15am Wednesday and rammed his truck through the security gates.
It’s believed that once inside the home he snuck up behind Edinger while she was working in the ranch’s service house.
It’s claimed he pointed his “machine gun” at her and threatened to “shoot [her] f*****g face off.”
Beecher is then claimed to have forced her to leave with him and demanded she drive him 145 miles to Denver in her own pick-up track, according to an FBI affidavit.
They reportedly made a number of stops in the Denver area before driving to Wyoming in the evening, according to KMGH.
Edinger told the FBI Beecher demanded she sleep next to him “with her head on his chest, her arm around his middle, and her leg over his”.
Cheyenne police were made aware of the kidnapping at around 11.15pm and were able to trace Edinger’s iPad to the motel.
They discovered Edinger’s truck in the parking lot.
Beecher was arrested Thursday with an AR-15 and a handgun, cops said.
“I am so proud of my staff and the ability they have in working together and with State and Federal agencies,” Rio Blanco County Sheriff Anthony Mazzola said.
“This team approach, quick action, experienced deputies and officers, led to [the victim’s] safe recovery. It was a great day.”
Bloomberg’s spokesperson, Ty Trippet, expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their work.
“We’re deeply grateful to the Rio Blanco County Sheriffs office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming law enforcement, the FBI and other individuals for their swift and heroic action in this case in ensuring that no lives were lost and that the victim has been rescued and safely returned to her family,” he said in a statement.
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