SANTA MARIA — Authorities rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California after he was kidnapped and held hostage for 4 days by 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 motel in Santa Maria, a metropolis about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The nightmare started Monday morning, when the abductors brought about a automotive crash in San Bernardino County, roughly 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Sant Maria, and kidnapped the teenager when he acquired out of his automobile to have a look at the harm, in response to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Los Angeles. A doorbell digital camera recorded the kidnapping.
The abductors referred to as the teenager’s mom from a Mexican telephone quantity and demanded $500,000, saying it needs to be delivered to Nogales, Mexico, federal prosecutors mentioned. The boys repeatedly referred to as her over the 4 days and threatening to hurt her son if the household didn’t pay.
The suspects additionally took a video that confirmed {the teenager} being pressured to learn from a script saying the kidnapping was his father’s fault for an incident that allegedly occurred in New York, authorities mentioned. The script mentioned the daddy knew what he stole, and the video was despatched to the boy’s mom.
“Few issues may be as terrorizing to a mother or father as having your youngster kidnapped and held for ransom beneath risk of bodily hurt,” U.S. Lawyer Martin Estrada mentioned in a press release.
The captors, three males of their 20s, have been charged federally with kidnapping and will face life in jail if convicted. They’re scheduled to look in court docket Monday afternoon.
Legislation enforcement used a Fb Market posting and the doorbell digital camera footage to trace the sufferer and the suspects to Santa Maria. A minimum of one firearm was recovered from the motel.
Authorities discovered the boy mendacity on the ground in a nook of the motel room. The household didn’t pay the ransom, officers mentioned.