Authorities probe man's report of being abducted near Wal-Mart

AUSTINTOWN -- Police are investigating a report that a 28-year-old Youngstown man was abducted at gunpoint Friday outside the Wal-Mart parking lot on Mahoning Avenue.
The victim told police that a man approached him near the vending machines in front of the store about 8:30 p.m., pointed a gun at him, and said, "Give me your money or I'll shoot you."
When the victim refused, the man with the gun told him to get into a nearby car driven by another man, reports state.
The victim told police he was taken to Liberty, where he was knocked unconscious and dumped in a ditch. A Liberty police officer said the Youngstown man flagged him down about 4:22 a.m. Saturday. The officer noted that the Youngstown man's clothes were dry, even though the man said he had been lying in the ditch in the rain for several hours.
The victim, who reported the abduction Monday, was taken to Forum Health Northside Medical Center and treated for a head injury.