EVEN BEFORE the clues fell into place leading investigators to rescue Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, Detective James Sloan knew two things: The 22-year-old abduction victim was more clever than her captor, and she was going to make it home safely.


"I won't say something if I don't believe it," Sloan said yesterday of the promise he'd made to Carlesha's mother, Keisha Gaither, early in the investigation, that she would see her daughter alive again.


The first of many clues that led to Freeland-Gaither's safe return home after authorities found her in Jessup, Md., with her alleged kidnapper on Wednesday was provided by the young woman herself, police said.


She had dropped her cellphone on Coulter Street near Greene, where police say Delvin Barnes, 37, accosted and abducted her Sunday night. Police said they believe that Freeland-Gaither - whose family from the get-go had described her as a fighter - left the phone behind intentionally.