Investigators traced clothing described by the victim to a Blaine store, helping them identify a cleaner who worked at her dental office.

ROSEVILLE, Minn. — A dress purchased at a Target store became a critical lead in the investigation of an eight-hour kidnapping and sexual assault after detectives connected store surveillance footage to a cleaner who worked at the Roseville dental office where the 27-year-old victim was employed, according to police and court records.

Pao Yang, 41, of Isanti was arrested Sept. 25 and charged in Ramsey County District Court with six felony counts: two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of kidnapping, first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Police say the case developed through a combination of the victim’s account, business and residential surveillance, cellphone-location information, automated license-plate data and evidence recovered after Yang’s arrest. The accusations remain allegations, and the available records reviewed for this report do not establish a final disposition in the case.

The investigative breakthrough came two days after the reported abduction. The woman gave detectives an image of a small brown dress that she said her attacker had made her wear during her captivity. Police determined that the dress came from Target and traced a matching purchase to a store in Blaine at about 9:50 p.m. on Sept. 23, the night of the attack. Surveillance video showed a man arriving in a dark sport utility vehicle, entering the store and making the purchase. Investigators later showed images from that footage to a worker at the dental office, who identified the man as Yang, the office cleaner, according to the criminal complaint.

That identification gave detectives a name to compare with the large amount of video and electronic data they had already gathered. A co-worker told police that Yang had a distinctive walk, wore a brace on his right knee and drove a black Acura SUV. Investigators compared footage from the Target store with video of Yang working at the dental office and concluded that the same person appeared in both, according to the complaint. Police Chief Erika Scheider said investigators reviewed hundreds of hours of recordings from businesses, residences and law enforcement systems as they worked to reconstruct the suspect’s movements.

Cellphone information added another layer to the case, authorities said. A phone associated with Yang was detected near the dental office around the time the woman was abducted, in the area where her stolen vehicle was later located and at the Blaine Target when the dress was purchased. Police also used automated license-plate readers during the investigation. Scheider said the technology played a significant role as detectives tried to locate the suspect after the woman was found and officers began searching for the person who had held her for hours.

The investigation began with a report of an armed abduction in a busy commercial area. Authorities said the woman was leaving work at about 5 p.m. Sept. 23 when a masked man wearing gloves confronted her with a handgun. The criminal complaint alleges that he directed her toward a wooded area near the dental office, restrained her with tape and zip ties and took belongings including her phone and wallet. He later returned and forced her into a vehicle, beginning a period of captivity that police say lasted about eight hours and involved travel to several locations in the Twin Cities area.

During that time, prosecutors allege, the man sexually assaulted the woman and repeatedly threatened her. The complaint says he made statements intended to frighten her into believing other people were involved and that her family could be harmed if she contacted police. At one point, according to the court filing, he described himself as “just doing his job” and suggested other people would decide what happened to her. Authorities have not publicly established that an organized group participated in the alleged crime, and police continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the statements attributed to the attacker.

The woman was eventually released near the Phalen Park Golf Course area in St. Paul, according to police. She walked to a nearby gas station, where bystanders noticed signs that she had been restrained and helped bring the situation to the attention of law enforcement. She was taken to Regions Hospital for medical treatment. Her subsequent cooperation with investigators became central to the effort to identify the man who had approached her while masked, particularly because she was able to describe locations, clothing and other details that investigators could compare against surveillance and transaction records.

Police also found evidence suggesting someone had interfered with a security camera at the dental office before the abduction. The complaint says a Ring camera on the southwest corner of the building had been tilted upward so that it no longer covered the parking lot. Its solar-panel cord had been cut and its battery housing opened. Investigators said the changes occurred during the afternoon before the woman was confronted. Other available video showed an Acura SUV in the area for an extended period before the camera’s view changed, according to accounts of the investigation.

After identifying Yang, police tracked him and arrested him in St. Paul on the evening of Sept. 25. Investigators later searched his Isanti residence and vehicle. Court records and police accounts say they recovered items that included black disposable masks, black gloves, orange zip ties and firearms, along with clothing or other items investigators said were consistent with material seen in surveillance footage. Those discoveries became part of the evidence cited by authorities, though the criminal charges still must be proved in court.

Yang told investigators that he cleaned five businesses, including the Roseville dental office, according to the complaint. He initially said he had been home on the evening of Sept. 23. When detectives confronted him with evidence that they believed placed him at the Blaine Target, he said he had gone there to buy an item for his daughter, the complaint states. Investigators told him their records showed the purchase involved the brown dress. Yang then requested an attorney, according to the filing. The exercise of that right does not imply guilt.

The case drew an unusually large response from local and state agencies. Roseville police said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies assisted with leads, evidence review and efforts to identify and locate a suspect. Scheider said the department committed extensive resources because the reported attack occurred in late afternoon in a heavily traveled area and because the woman initially did not know the identity of the person who abducted her.

At Yang’s first court appearance, prosecutors sought high bail, and authorities said bail was set at $2.5 million. Police emphasized that their investigation remained active even after the arrest, including questions about the circumstances preceding the attack. Publicly available sources reviewed through Nov. 9 did not establish a final resolution of the charges. Yang is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty in court.

Author note: Last updated Nov. 9, 2026.