Illustrative
IllustrativeMendy Hechtman/Flash90

A woman who was apparently being held hostage has been rescued after sending a desperate plea for help hidden in a take-out order.

The woman, whose name has not been released, met up with a man she first contacted via a dating app, and was later assaulted by him and held in his home.

The man took away her phone, but returned it briefly to allow her to order a meal over Grubhub. Seizing the opportunity, the woman wrote in the "additional information" section of her order, "Please call the police ... please don't make it obvious."

Alice Bermejo, who owns the Chipper Truck Cafe, said that when the order came in, workers at the restaurant were unsure if it was a prank, but her husband said they should call the police.

“The message came in, and the girls read it and they called my husband to see what they should do,” Bermejo told CBS News. “He told them, let’s call the police, we can’t take any risk or chance.”

When the knock at the door came, the man opened, expecting the delivery, only to find police from the NYPD who arrested him. He has been charged with rape, strangulation, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment, menacing, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and sexual abuse.