Held at gunpoint for $15k ransom
The Arizona Republic reported yesterday that a couple from Tucson was kidnapped and held against their will by “several men” in Nogales, Sonora last week. Kidnappers demanded a ransom, but the kidnap victims were located and rescued by Sonora state investigators the following day.
The Republic reported that the Arizona couple, ages 38 and 40, were kidnapped in Nogales last Wednesday, April 24. The victims’ relatives in Tucson contacted authorities after receiving a ransom demand for $15,000 from the kidnappers.
The following day the United States Embassy in Mexico City alerted the Sonora Attorney General’s office in Hermosillo to the abduction, and officers from the Sonora Attorney General’s investigative branch began to search for the couple in Nogales.
Later that evening investigators located the pair, who were tied up and yelling for help in a south Nogales house guarded by “several armed men.” Two of the armed gunmen, ages 17 and 22, were arrested and charged with kidnapping. It was not clear whether other kidnappers were arrested and charged.
According to the report, after their rescue the Tucsonans received legal assistance as well as medical and psychological care. They were interviewed by investigators before being released to the border to return to the United States.
We recommend that visitors to Nogales remain in the Nogales, Sonora tourism zones near the international border. The tourism zones are well protected and safe, and travel to other parts of Nogales can be dangerous.