abduction news stories on Newser

Doctors Abducted in Afghanistan

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:12:41 CDT

Two foreign doctors and their three Afghan colleagues have been kidnapped in a remote area in the extreme northeast Afghanistan, officials said today. The kidnapping occurred yesterday as the group was traveling on horseback between Yaftal and Ragh districts about 56 miles from the provincial capital of Faizabad, a Badakhshan...

Missing Girl's Family Ordered to Leave Ariz. Home

Kevin Spak — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:13:33 CDT

Canine units gave police a clue today that sent them in a "new direction" in the search for missing Arizona 6-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis —a direction that led them to ask Isabel's family to leave the home from which she allegedly disappeared over the weekend, police tell NBC . Authorities didn't...

Disabled French Hostage Dies in Somalia Captivity

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:15:38 CDT

The wheelchair-bound French tourist kidnapped by Somali gunmen earlier this month died in captivity, France said today. Marie Dedieu, 66, was a quadriplegic and required medication every six hours. Though the French government attempted to send her prescriptions to her and well-wishers offered to bring the medicine to where she...

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:58:33 CDT

Kenyan troops crossed the border into Somalia yesterday in an attempt to crack down on militants suspected in a rash of kidnappings, residents say. A Kenyan official confirms to the BBC the country’s troops are targeting al-Shabab, the Somalia group suspected of crossing the border and seizing four Europeans and...

Holly Bobo's Kidnapper May Have Struck Before

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:27:07 CDT

A potential new lead in the kidnapping of Holly Bobo : MSNBC reports that Heather Sullivan, who lives about 45 minutes from where Bobo was abducted, found herself nearly kidnapped in January. A "tall, skinny man" accosted her outside her home around 5:30am, grabbing her arm. But she dropped a...

Searchers Find Lunchbox of Missing Tennessee Woman

John Johnson — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:32:26 CDT

Hundreds of volunteers scoured the woods in Tennessee today as the search for a missing 20-year-old nursing student entered its fourth day, reports Reuters . Investigators say they turned up the lunchbox of Holly Bobo along with other unspecified belongings about 8 miles from her house, notes CBS , but no sign...

Pliers-Wielding Mom Nabs Kidnap Suspect

Rob Quinn — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:42:00 CDT

After her 8-year-old daughter came running home to report that a man had tried to kidnap her, a Florida mom jumped in her car to find the suspect and ended up chasing him while brandishing a heavy set of pliers, ABC News reports. The man was detained by a clerk...

Van Halen's Sammy Hagar: Aliens Uploaded My Brain

Nick McMaster — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:16:05 CDT

Sammy Hagar has had his brain "uploaded" by aliens in a "download situation," and he wants to talk about it. The former Van Halen frontman describes his close encounters in his new autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, and expounds upon them in an interview with MTV . "Remember the...

6 WWF Volunteers Abducted From Indian Tiger Reserve

Nick McMaster — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:05:21 CST

Six volunteers for the World Wildlife Foundation were abducted yesterday as they counted the tiger population at a preserve in northeast India, the AP reports. The kidnapping was carried out by a heavily armed and organized group, but no one has yet claimed responsibility, though the area is home to...