List of kidnappings

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This is a list of kidnappings.

1 Famous kidnappings
2 Modern kidnappings of celebrities or their relatives
3 Faked kidnappings
4 Assumed kidnap conspiracies that turned out to be fake
5 Suspected kidnappings
6 Kidnapping in lieu of extradition

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Famous kidnappings

Edgardo Mortara a six-year-old Jewish child taken from his family by Pope Pius IX in 1858 because a passing housekeeper had secretly baptized him. The child was never returned to his parents notwithstanding the humanitarian pleas of President Ulysses S. Grant, Emperor Franz Josef, and Napoleon III. At age 18 he decided to remain Catholic, taking the name Pius.

Larcena Pennington and 11-year-old Mercedes Sais Quiroz, by Apaches (1860).

Ion Perdicaris and his step-son Cromwell Varley were kidnapped by Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli in Morocco, causing US Secretary of State John Hay to declare "This government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead."

Marian Parker - On December 14, 1927, William Hickman kidnapped and murdered 12-year-old Marian Parker, the daughter of a Los Angeles banker. A few days after being paid a small ransom, Hickman was arrested and tried. On October 19, 1928, became the first American kidnapper to be executed for his crime.

Brooke Hart, the son of a San Jose, California, businessman, was kidnapped and murdered. His kidnappers were lynched by a mob, the last public lynching in California (1933).

North Korean abductions of South Koreans (began in 1950)

Robert (Bobby) Cosgrove Greenlease Jr. - the six-year-old boy was kidnapped and immediately murdered September 28, 1953 in Kansas City, Missouri by Bonnie Heady and Carl Hall. They then demanded and were paid a $600,000 ransom from the boy's father, a wealthy automobile dealer. Notable in the case was that more than half of the ransom money was stolen by a corrupt police officer and never recovered.

Adolf Eichmann, Nazi war criminal, abducted in 1960 by Mossad in Argentina and brought back to Israel to stand trial for crimes against humanity. He was convicted in 1961 and hanged in 1962.

Joseph Bonanno, (1964). The crime family leader was kidnapped by his own enforcer, along with his lawyer. Forced to make economic and retirement agreements with other mafia bosses, he and his lawyer were let go alive.

The forcible deportation the Chagos Islanders by the British government of Harold Wilson, to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia (for which the British government received a £5 million discount on a Polaris missile) (1967 – 1973)

James Cross, British diplomat, and Pierre Laporte, Quebec provincial politician. Their kidnappings by the Front de libération du Québec set off the 1970 October Crisis. Cross was released; Laporte was murdered.

North Korean abductions of Japanese (1970s – 1980s)

Walter Palmers, (1977), Austrian industrialist.

Aldo Moro, (1978), former Italian Prime Minister. He was killed almost two months later.

Shergar, (1981), Epsom Derby-winning racehorse

Enrique Camarena, (1985), Mexican American DEA official, found dead.

Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear whistleblower, abducted by Mossad in Italy and brought back to Israel, where he was convicted of treason and espionage, and served 18 years in prison, 11 years in solitary confinement (1986).

Gerrit Jan Heijn, (1987), Dutch top executive of Ahold, brother of Albert Heijn; kidnapped and killed in 1987 by Ferry E.; after that Ferry E. pretended that his victim was still alive and asked and received ransom; he was caught after spending one of the banknotes of the ransom, of which the numbers had been recorded; he served a prison sentence and is free now; it was frowned upon that after his release he received over 300,000 euro back-payment of disability benefits for the time he was in prison (rules have changed now, this would no longer be possible).

Twelve-year-old Sara Anne Wood disappeared on a quiet road near her Herkimer, New York, home in August 1993. Lewis Lent, a janitor from Massachusetts, confessed to kidnapping Sara, sexually assaulting her, then killing her, but he refused to say where he buried her body. Lent had also plead guilty to the 1990 kidnapping and murder of twelve-year-old Pittsfield, Massachusetts native Jimmy Bernardo. Lent abducted Jimmy from the Pittsfield movie theater where he worked as a janitor. He was sentenced to life without parole for the Bernardo murder and sentenced to 25 years-to-life for the Wood murder. He is currently in prison in Massachusetts. Lent is also suspected in a number of other child kidnapping cases.

Polly Klaas was kidnapped and murdered by Richard Allen Davis in Petaluma, California, in October 1993. Davis has been sentenced to death.

Delimar Vera Cuevas 1997, five-week-old baby kidnapped by a woman who set her house on fire to take her away, casually found by her natural mother at a birthday party six years later.

Hans van de Kimmenade 1999, a group of at least four armed Arabian men kidnapped this 17 year old from his estate in Helmond (the Netherlands). After the case got so much media attention, van de Kimmenade was dropped off at a waterschap within 48 hours. No reason was given for his release. After months of research the case appeared unsolvable.

Humberto Alvarez-Machain, suspect in the murder of Enrique Camarena, kidnapped, allegedly by Americans, to bring him to trial in the United States.

Ingrid Betancourt, (2002), Colombian presidency candidate, by the FARC movement.

Arjan Erkel in Chechnya, He was rescued two years later by police. (2002)

Dru Sjodin. American college student, found dead on April 17, 2004.

James Brandon, in Iraq (2004), He was released days later.

Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City bedroom on June 5, 2002 and was found alive nine months later in a suburb of Salt Lake City on March 12, 2003.

Claudia Melchers, in The Netherlands (2005). A group of armed man broke into her house, tighted up her husband and children and took Claudia with them. Motive is unknown, although it is suspected that it was done to receive a large payment, seeing as her father - Hans Melchers - is the 36th-richest person of The Netherlands, according to Quote.

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Modern kidnappings of celebrities or their relatives

Kidnappers interested in getting a large ransom or a political effect often target celebrities or their relatives. Here are some of the people affected by these crimes:

Beatriz Adriana: Mexican singer/actress whose son was kidnapped and found dead in Tijuana. There were rumors that his death was the result of his failure to pay a drug debt, but no such evidence was ever found.
Tony Blair: According to a British tabloid, Scotland Yard foiled an attempt to kidnap his four year old son in 2006 [1].
Jorge and Juan Born, (1974), scions of the Bunge y Born business were kidnapped in September by the Montoneros and only released after the payment of a $60 million ransom.
Riddick Bowe's wife, Julie and his five kids were kidnapped for five days by Bowe himself.
Jorge Campos (soccer player): His father was kidnapped and later found alive in Acapulco, Mexico.
Julio Cesar Chavez received threatening calls, saying his sons would be kidnapped.
Françoise Claustre : French archaeologist who was kidnapped in Chad by guerillas led by Hissène Habré.
Adolph Coors III: Heir to the Coors beer fortune. He was found dead.
Baron Édouard-Jean Empain: Industrialist who was kidnapped for ransom. His captors cut off one of his fingers in order to bring proof that they held him.
Alejandro Fernandez: His brother was kidnapped (see Vicente Fernandez).
Vicente Fernandez: The famous Mexican singer's son, Vicente Fernandez Jr., was kidnapped and later released alive.
John Paul Getty III, kidnapped in Italy in 1973. His grandfather, the then world's richest man, American multi-billionaire oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty, refused to pay his $3 million ransom until one of the boy's ears was cut off and sent to a newspaper.
Eric Peugeot, kidnapped in France in 1960, son of French car tycoon Armand Peugeot
Susana Gimenez: Argentine diva whose boyfriend's father was kidnapped on January 8, 2004. The father was rescued by police a month later.
Georgiy Gongadze: Prominent Ukrainian journalist kidnapped and later found beheaded in 2000. His disappearance has triggered a major political and diplomatic scandal also involving United States and other Western countries. No details of the crime revealed yet.
Cordelia Gonzalez: Well-known Puerto Rican actress who has made some Hollywood films; was kidnapped at gunpoint during July of 2005. Released after paying ransom.
Alejandra Guzman: The Mexican singing diva has received several calls threatening to kidnap her ten year old daughter, because of which she has hired extra security. She always takes her daughter with her on the road.
William Randolph Hearst: His granddaughter Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the SLA in 1974. Her father gave $6 million in food to the poor of the Bay Area as ransom, but she was not released. She became part of her captor's group and was later convicted on bank robbery charges.
Julio Iglesias's father was kidnapped in 1985. Found well and alive.
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, son of the Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka Shing: Kidnapped by Cheung Chi Keung, AKA "Big Spender". He was released after the world record payment of a HK$1Billion (US$134 million) ransom in cash. Cheung was later captured and executed in Guangzhou in 2000.
Charles Lindbergh: The aviator's two-year old son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped in 1932 and was killed. This was among the most famous of modern kidnappings of celebrities' relatives. See Lindbergh kidnapping.
Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau: First daughter of Fiji and senator, during a coup against her father. Kidnappers threatened to kill her, but she survived.
Carlos Pesquera: Former candidate for governor of Puerto Rico and president of the PNP party, held captive for a few hours on July 2004 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; released after paying captors 1,000 dollars.
Eric Peugeot, son of Raymond Peugeot, an automobile industry millionaire, was kidnapped at the age of four in 1960 in Paris. He was returned after payment of a ransom, and his kidnappers arrested a few years later.
Adal Ramones, who was kidnapped in 2000, later released alive.
Ruben Omar Romano, Argentine Soccer coach, in Mexico. He was rescued two months later.
Cesar Rosas: Member of Los Lobos whose wife, Sandra, was kidnapped on October 23, 1999 and later found dead. Gabriel Gomez was accused and sentenced for her kidnapping and murder.
Hanns-Martin Schleyer: German manager and employer representative.He was kidnapped in Köln in 1977. He was found dead in Mulhouse, France.
Frank Sinatra, Jr., son of Frank Sinatra, was kidnapped and released after ransom was paid.
Veruska Ramirez, former Miss Venezuela, kidnapped and released three hours later, after signing 15 autographs for her captors.
Karl Maria von Spret: West-Germany's ambassador to Guatemala, was kidnapped in 1970 in Guatemala City. He was killed.
Johnny Tapia: The world boxing champion saw his mother raped and kidnapped when he was 8 years old. He was hiding when he witnessed the assault. His mother's body was found on a road days later.
Thalía: The Mexican Diva's sister, the also famous actress Laura Zapata and another unidentified sister, were kidnapped. They were both released alive.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: The basketball player, a star in his home country (Georgia), had strangers call to his house and threaten to kidnap his brother and mother after it became known he signed a million-dollar contract with the NBA's Denver Nuggets. As a consequence, he moved all his family to Denver.
Yuri: She was going to be kidnapped, but the plans folded when one of the would be kidnappers left the criminal band that would have committed the act, and told her cousin about the plans.
Laura Zapata (See Thalía).

Also of notice is that Dominican actor Andres Garcia announced he doubled his security guard numbers, afraid he and his family could get kidnapped too. On the same line, Manny Pacquiao, world boxing champion at the Flyweight, Jr. Featherweight and Featherweight divisions, has had to hire six security guards who constantly surround him and his family in his home country of the Philippines, after receiving kidnap threatening calls from several groups.

This crime is flourishing in poor countries, where the economic situation can drive people to desperate measures.

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Faked kidnappings

Seka Aleksic, faked his kidnapping in a car in 2004.
Author Agatha Christie, whose disappearance in 1926 was feared to be a kidnapping. When she re-appeared with no explanation, a real-life mystery began which remains to this day.
Jules Croiset; Dutch Jewish actor faked being kidnapped by neo-nazis.
Dar Heatherington, Alberta city councillor who claimed to have been abducted in Montana.
Aimee Semple McPherson: evangelist who maintained she was kidnapped while all evidence pointed to the contrary.
Audrey Seiler: University of Wisconsin student who faked her own kidnapping in the spring of 2004
Jennifer Wilbanks (a.k.a. the Runaway Bride): Georgia woman who alleged that she was kidnapped as an excuse for her running away from her own wedding in late April 2005.

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Assumed kidnap conspiracies that turned out to be fake

Victoria Beckham. The former member of the Spice Girls and wife of soccer player David Beckham was supposedly planned to be kidnapped on November 1, 2002.
Jorge Ursino, the alleged illegal immigrant transporter from Arizona faked his own kidnapping to collect money, making headlines.

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