"The victim had injuries from being beaten, strangled and there were scratches on her lower legs where the chain had been attached," the jail report stated.

Erkelens said it's strange to be called a hero, but said he has always been attentive. He credits his strong sense of awareness to his service in theAir Force as an F-16 technician.

"I have always paid attention to the things around me," he said.

Erkelens did not know either the chained woman or her boyfriend before he called police Friday. He had thought the apartment was vacant, he said.

Fernando Orozco-Trevizo, 32, was arrested Tuesday while working construction in South Jordan. When investigators asked him about chaining up his girlfriend, he said, "It was just a game," according to jail records. Orozco-Trevizo further told investigators that he believed his girlfriend was having an affair with someone else in the apartment complex and that she got her injuries from falling down.

Orozco-Trevizo was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated kidnapping and assault. He also had an immigration detainer put on him for aggravated re-entry into the United States. Orozco-Trevizo told police if he got deported again, "he will come back for the victim," according to jail records.

The girlfriend was at an undisclosed location Wednesday.

McLachlan praised the efforts of Erkelens, calling him a "good citizen," and noted that if he had ignored the message on the window thinking it was a joke, the woman would probably still be chained to the engine block in the room.

"Kudos to (Erkelens)," McLachlan said. "He took the time to investigate what was going on."

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Contributing: Rebecca Palmer

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com