A woman held hostage for more than 24 hours inside a North Texas home was rescued early Wednesday after the FBI Hostage Rescue Team stormed the residence — ending a standoff that drew SWAT teams from multiple agencies and raised questions about the state’s bail system.
The incident began at approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday when 57-year-old Michael David Miller called 911 from a home in the 12100 block of Thoroughbred Drive in Providence Village, a community in the Aubrey area of Denton County. During the call, Miller told dispatchers he had two female hostages and weapons, and threatened to shoot them if officers approached. The call then disconnected, and Miller did not answer repeated follow-up attempts.
Aubrey officers arrived to find a broken window on the side of the home and established a perimeter. The department activated its Special Operations Response Team. Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, a juvenile female exited the home safely. Information she provided to officers prompted authorities to call in additional resources, including the Denton Police Department SWAT team, which arrived around 6 a.m.
As the standoff stretched through Tuesday, the McKinney Police Department SWAT team arrived to relieve Denton’s personnel. Prosper officers also assisted on scene. Negotiators from multiple agencies worked to establish contact with Miller, but their efforts were unsuccessful. A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents near the home, and area schools were affected.
Around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team made entry into the residence and took Miller into custody. The woman was rescued, evaluated at the scene and transported to a hospital for further treatment. She is expected to recover.
Miller is being held in the Denton County Jail with no bail currently set. He faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping using a hostage, burglary of a habitation, unlawful restraint and violation of a protective order.
The arrest has drawn scrutiny over Miller’s recent release from jail. Aubrey police had previously arrested him on March 18 on a warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after his girlfriend filed a police report alleging that in December he had threatened her life at gunpoint. She provided police with a recorded conversation in which Miller did not deny the threat. The woman obtained a protective order against Miller on March 2. Miller was held in Denton County Jail until April 11 — just 11 days before the hostage standoff — when he posted a $50,000 bond and was released.
The shelter-in-place order for Providence Village has been lifted, though police activity in the area continued into Wednesday morning. The investigation is ongoing.