Police say the accused man worked inside the same dental practice and was recognized by a co-worker from store surveillance footage.
ROSEVILLE, Minn. — The man accused of abducting a woman outside a Roseville dental office was not a stranger to the workplace: He cleaned the office where she worked, a connection police say emerged only after investigators showed another employee surveillance images taken during the hourslong kidnapping.
Pao Yang, 41, of Isanti faces six felony charges in Ramsey County District Court stemming from the Sept. 23 abduction and sexual assault of a 27-year-old employee. Authorities allege Yang approached the woman while masked and armed as she left the office around 5 p.m., held her captive for roughly eight hours, sexually assaulted her and threatened her before releasing her in St. Paul. He has been charged with two counts each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping, along with first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
The workplace connection became one of the most significant developments in the investigation. Police said the woman did not know the identity of the masked attacker, even though Yang performed cleaning work at the dental practice. After detectives obtained security footage from a Target store in Blaine, they showed images of the shopper to another dental-office employee. That worker recognized the man as “Pao,” the cleaner, and described physical characteristics and a vehicle that investigators could compare with other evidence. The recognition transformed a search for an unidentified masked suspect into an investigation focused on a specific worker with access to the office environment.
Authorities have not publicly said how long Yang had worked at the practice, what access his cleaning duties gave him or whether he had interacted directly with the woman before Sept. 23. Police Chief Erika Scheider said after the arrest that detectives were still examining whether the woman had been stalked. Investigators have described the woman and Yang as people who worked at the same location but said she did not know him as the person who abducted her. No publicly available evidence reviewed for this report established a motive for selecting her.
What police did find at the workplace raised questions about preparations before the woman left that afternoon. A Ring security camera positioned outside the office had been altered so it no longer faced the parking lot, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators found the camera tilted upward, its solar-panel cord cut and its battery housing opened. The complaint indicates the tampering occurred before the abduction. Other surveillance showed an Acura SUV at the property for hours, and authorities later said Yang drove a black Acura.
The criminal complaint alleges that the woman walked outside shortly after 5 p.m. and was confronted by a man dressed in a black mask and gloves and carrying a handgun. He told her he needed her vehicle and ordered her toward woods near the office, prosecutors say. Once there, she was restrained with tape and zip ties while the man took personal property. The court filing says he temporarily left her before returning and moving her into a vehicle. From that point, investigators say, the woman was transported among several locations over the next several hours.
Prosecutors allege that the attacker sexually assaulted the woman and used threats to keep her compliant. The complaint describes statements in which he suggested that other people were involved and claimed that harm could come to her or her family if she contacted authorities. He also allegedly said that he was “just doing his job.” Investigators have treated those statements as part of the woman’s account of the ordeal; public police statements reviewed for this report have not confirmed that additional offenders participated. The allegations of sexual violence are described here without unnecessary graphic detail.
One detail from the woman’s captivity ultimately helped investigators connect the masked attacker to the dental office. She told police that the man made her change into a brown dress and later provided detectives with an image of the garment. Investigators identified it as a Target product and determined that a matching dress had been purchased at a Blaine store around 9:50 p.m. on the night of the kidnapping. Store surveillance showed a man making the purchase and arriving in a dark SUV, giving police footage clear enough to circulate among people who knew the office.
Recognition by the woman’s co-worker was not the only link authorities cited after naming Yang. Investigators said surveillance footage of him cleaning the dental office appeared consistent with the man recorded at Target. The co-worker noted what police described as a distinctive gait and said Yang wore a brace on his right knee. Cellphone-location information also placed a phone associated with Yang near the dental office around the time of the kidnapping, near the location where the woman’s vehicle was recovered and at the Target store when the dress was purchased, according to police and the complaint.
Authorities arrested Yang on Sept. 25, two days after the woman was abducted. Police said he was located in St. Paul after investigators used surveillance footage, automated license-plate readers and assistance from several agencies to track him. A search of his Isanti home and related property turned up black masks, gloves, orange zip ties and firearms, according to court records and police accounts. Investigators also reported finding material they believed corresponded with clothing or equipment associated with the masked man. Those items are part of the prosecution’s evidence and have not been tested publicly in a trial.
When questioned, Yang acknowledged that he cleaned several businesses, including the dental office, the complaint states. He initially told police he was home on the evening of the alleged attack. Investigators then confronted him with evidence from the Target store. According to the filing, Yang gave an explanation for being at the store, but detectives challenged that account with the purchase record for the dress. Yang requested a lawyer and the questioning ended. His decision to invoke counsel is a constitutional right and does not constitute evidence of guilt.
The woman, meanwhile, had been released near the Phalen Park Golf Course area in St. Paul after hours in captivity, authorities said. She made her way to a gas station, where people noticed signs that she had been restrained and helped alert law enforcement. She received medical care at Regions Hospital. Police later credited her ability to remember and communicate details with helping detectives rapidly narrow the investigation. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said her composure provided information that contributed to the arrest.
Roseville officials said the circumstances were particularly alarming because the abduction was reported at about 5 p.m. in a busy area rather than an isolated location late at night. Scheider said she could not recall a similar case during nearly three decades with the department. Police worked with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, federal personnel and other agencies while reviewing footage and pursuing leads. The department also increased its presence in the area during the search.
As of Nov. 9, Yang made an initial court appearance after the charges were filed, and authorities said his bail was set at $2.5 million. The criminal case remains subject to court proceedings, and publicly accessible reports reviewed through Nov. 9 did not establish that the charges had been resolved. The investigation also left unanswered questions about why the victim was allegedly targeted and how much advance planning prosecutors may ultimately seek to prove. Yang is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 9, 2026.