As a police patrol car arrived at the scene, the officers saw two men bundle Nakao into his own car and drive off. According to the police, a third man was keeping lookout in a station wagon.
The officers chased the car and caught up with it when it stopped at a red light. They banged on the car windows and demanded that the kidnappers surrender, but the suspects refused to comply and drove off. The officers said they got a good look at the suspects' faces and would be able to identify them.