SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Authorities rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California after he was kidnapped and held hostage for 4 days by his captors, who threatened to hurt him if his household didn’t pay a $500,000 ransom.
The teenager was rescued Friday after legislation enforcement tracked him and his three kidnappers to a lodge in Santa Maria, a metropolis about 140 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The nightmare started Monday morning, when kidnappers prompted a automobile accident in San Bernardino County, about 200 miles from St. Maria, and kidnapped the teenager as he received out of his automobile to take a look at the harm, in keeping with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in Los Angeles. Angeles. A doorbell digicam recorded the kidnapping.
Federal prosecutors mentioned the abductors referred to as the teenager’s mom from a Mexican telephone quantity and demanded $500,000, saying she needs to be extradited to Nogales, Mexico. The lads referred to as her repeatedly over the 4 days and threatened to hurt her son if the household didn’t pay up.
The suspects additionally filmed a video exhibiting the teenager being pressured to learn from a script saying the kidnapping was his father’s fault in an incident that allegedly occurred in New York, authorities mentioned. The state of affairs said that the daddy knew what he had stolen, and the video was despatched to the boy’s mom.
“Few issues could be as terrifying to a guardian as having your baby kidnapped and held for ransom underneath the specter of bodily hurt,” U.S. Legal professional Martin Estrada mentioned in an announcement.
The abductors, three males of their 20s, have been charged federally with kidnapping and will face life in jail if convicted. They’re scheduled to seem in courtroom Monday afternoon.
Legislation enforcement used a Fb Market submit and doorbell digicam footage to trace the sufferer and suspects to Santa Maria. NBC affiliate KSBY He mentioned a search warrant was obtained for Motel 6 the place the teenager was discovered. At the least one firearm was recovered from the lodge.
Authorities discovered the boy mendacity on the ground within the nook of the lodge room. Officers mentioned the household didn’t pay the ransom.