Law enforcement agencies in two states were investigating Thursday the kidnapping of a Harlem woman.

The 62-year-old woman allegedly was abducted from a Harlem grocery store Wednesday and later found near Greenwood, S.C., according to authorities. She was found by a South Carolina police officer in a wooded area off U.S. Highway 25, near her vehicle.

"A man supposedly approached her, pulled out a gun and got her into her car and made her drive over here to our jurisdiction," said Greenwood County sheriff's Maj. John Murray. "He got her out of the car, took her into the woods and beat her about the face and head. She says she blacked out and when she woke up he was gone."

Harlem Public Safety Lt. Kelvin Hartwell said that the woman told authorities that her kidnapper was hiding in her sport utility vehicle when she left the store.

Police said the woman described her kidnapper as white, in his late 40s or early 50s and with a slim build.

Lt. Hartwell said that the woman also told him the kidnapper was wearing a blue shirt, denim pants and had a tattoo of a tribal design on his left wrist.

Harlem authorities said the kidnapping occurred at the Harlem IGA at 575 W. Milledgeville Road.

Police are asking the public for help.

Anyone with information can call the Harlem Department of Public Safety at (706) 556-6262 or the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office at (864) 943-8052.

Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.