Kidnapped teen rescued from Southern California motel room after 4 days of being held hostage

Kidnapped teen rescued from Southern California motel room after 4 days of being held hostage

Authorities have rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California after he used to be abducted and held hostage for 4 days by way of captors who threatened to hurt him if his circle of relatives didn’t pay a $500,000 ransom

ByThe Associated Press

September 24, 2023, 7:34 PM

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Authorities rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California after he used to be abducted and held hostage for 4 days by way of captors who threatened to hurt him if his circle of relatives didn’t pay a $500,000 ransom.

The teen used to be rescued Friday after regulation enforcement tracked him and his 3 kidnappers to a motel in Santa Maria, a town about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The nightmare started Monday morning, when the abductors brought about a automobile crash in San Bernardino County, kind of 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Sant Maria, and kidnapped the teen when he were given out of his automobile to have a look at the wear, in line with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. A doorbell digital camera recorded the abduction.

The kidnappers referred to as the teen’s mom from a Mexican telephone quantity and demanded $500,000, pronouncing it will have to be dropped at Nogales, Mexico, federal prosecutors stated. The males again and again referred to as her over the 4 days and perilous to hurt her son if the circle of relatives didn’t pay.

The suspects additionally took a video that confirmed {the teenager} being compelled to learn from a script pronouncing the kidnapping used to be his father’s fault for an incident that allegedly befell in New York, government stated. The script stated the daddy knew what he stole, and the video used to be despatched to the boy’s mom.

“Few things can be as terrorizing to a parent as having your child kidnapped and held for ransom under threat of physical harm,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated in a commentary.

The captors, 3 males of their 20s, have been charged federally with kidnapping and may just face existence in jail if convicted. They are scheduled to look in courtroom Monday afternoon.

Law enforcement used a Facebook Marketplace posting and the doorbell digital camera pictures to trace the sufferer and the suspects to Santa Maria. At least one firearm used to be recovered from the motel.

Authorities discovered the boy mendacity at the ground in a nook of the motel room. The circle of relatives didn’t pay the ransom, officers stated.

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