Confirming rumors concerning the recent kidnapping of a lakeside businessman, officials at the Chapala Minsiterio Publico (district attorney’s office) report that the victim managed to escape his captors and find safety.
The young entrepreneur was abducted on the afternoon of February 4 at the tire shop he operated on the Libramiento bypass and taken to a hideout located in a rural area at the eastern outskirts of the municipality. During three days of captivity, the kidnappers amputated one of the man’s fingers to pressure his family into coughing up a 10-million-peso ransom. Convinced that he would eventually be killed, the victim took a chance in running for freedom while the criminals were sleeping.
No ransom money was ever paid. However, the victim and close relatives have put their family businesses up for sale and gone into hiding for fear of reprisals.