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List of kidnappings: 2020–present

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The following is a list of kidnappings that occurred from 2020 onward, summarizing the events of each case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings.

Date Victim Abductor Location Age of victim Outcome Notes
10 February 2020 Faye Marie Swetlik Coty Scott Taylor Cayce, South Carolina, US 6 Murdered 6-year-old Faye Swetlik disappeared on 10 February 2020 and was found murdered three days later. The same day her body was found, a man named Coty Scott Taylor committed suicide and Swetlik's DNA was found in his house. Police concluded that Taylor had killed Swetlik hours after abducting her.[1]
May 2020 Cecilia Chimbiri, Joana Mamombe and Netsai Marova Zimbabwean government officers Zimbabwe Unknown Released MDC members who were abducted for two days after an anti-government protest, where they were allegedly tortured and sexually abused by government officers.[2]
2 July 2020 Patricia Alatorre Armando Cruz Bakersfield, California, US 13 Murdered Alatorre disappeared on 1 July around 11:30 p.m., with Bakersfield Police Department believing that she was a runaway until surveillance footage showed a pickup truck at the area.[3][4] The police connected the truck to 24-year-old Armando Cruz from Inglewood, California, who pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Alatorre.[5]
9 September 2020 Óscar Denis Paraguayan People's Army Concepción, Paraguay 73 Unknown A Paraguayan politician and former Vice President of the nation. He was kidnapped on 9 September by the Paraguayan People's Army, who formally claimed responsibility for the kidnapping two days later. His ultimate fate remains unknown.[6]
15 November 2020 Kum Avantika Childless couple Hyderabad, Telangana, India 3 Rescued Avantika was abducted as she travelled with her family on a bus to Bellary. She was rescued approximately 20 hours after her abduction. The motive for her kidnapping was the fact her abductors had no children of their own.[7]
3 March 2021 Sarah Everard Wayne Couzens London, England, UK 33 Murdered Everard disappeared in South London while walking home to Brixton Hill.[8] Six days later, police officer Wayne Couzens was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and later murdering Everard.[9] Everard's remains were found in Hoad's Wood in a large builder's bag and identified via dental records.[10] Couzens pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping Everard,[11] and eventually admitted killing her.[12]
2 July 2021 Unnamed 6-year-old girl (identity withheld) Robby Wildt Louisville, Kentucky 6 Rescued The unnamed child was kidnapped by Wildt from outside her home. Neighbors who witnessed the crime called 911; one followed Wildt's vehicle and provided authorities with part of the abductor's license plate. As such, the child was rescued just minutes after her abduction. Wildt was later sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for the kidnapping.[13]
16 July 2021 Selsela Alikhil Unknown Islamabad, Pakistan Unknown Released Daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan who was forcefully abducted and tortured by an attacker who picked her up in his taxi. She was later released, and her case is currently under investigation.[14]
13 August 2021 Mariam Abdulrab DeMarcus Brinkley Atlanta, US 27 Murdered Bartender kidnapped from outside her home in Southeast Atlanta. Her body was discovered several hours later. Abdulrab's kidnapper, who had previously been convicted of child sexual abuse, plead guilty to her murder, kidnapping, attempted rape, and other charges.[15][16]
20 August 2021 Queen Bakomi Unidentified kidnapping gang Balma, Adamawa State, Nigeria Unknown Rescued On 20 August a gang of kidnappers stormed the residence of Bakomi Andarawus and killed him before abducting his daughter Queen. Queen was held for six days while the gang demanded two million naira in ransom. The kidnappers eventually conceded that this was an unrealistic amount and agreed to accept 170,000 in return for Queen's release. According to a police source, the kidnappers directed representatives of the family to take the money to a particular place in the bush for collection. However, a group of vigilantes who were lying in wait opened fire on the gang member who came to collect the ransom and killed him, rescuing Queen in the process.[17]
16 October 2021 Cleo Smith Terence Darrell Kelly Gascoyne, Australia 4 Rescued Smith disappeared from her family's tent at a campsite, and remained missing for 18 days until 3 November. She was found alive by police at Kelly's house after mobile phone evidence determined that he had visited the campsite.[18] The kidnapper was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison.[19]
November 2021 Speedy Mashilo Unknown hijackers R568 road between Ekangala and KwaMhlanga 55 Released Speedy Katisho Mashilo was kidnapped for a few hours in November 2021 by unknown hijackers[20] who attempted to extort information from him. Mashilo was later let go.
20 November 2021 Bobbi-Ann McLeod Cody Ackland Plymouth, U.K. 18 Murdered Bobbi-Ann McLeod was attacked at a bus stop by Cody Ackland, who beat her with a claw hammer, forced her into his car and drove her up to Dartmoor, where he beat her to death.[21] The kidnapper plead guilty to murder.[21]
February 2022 "Yang" Dong Zhimin[22] Feng County, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China Unknown Rescued A mentally disturbed and unlawfully imprisoned young woman chained to a wall and who gave birth to eight children throughout the period of her captivity. Several conflicting statements have been issued by the Chinese Communist Party following her rescue, including the claim "Yang" was a beggar who had first encountered her abductor's father in 1998 and had subsequently married her abductor.[23]
11 March 2022 Ivan Fedorov Russian military officers Melitopol, Ukraine 33 Released Mayor of the Ukrainian town of Melitopol who was arrested on 11 March 2022, for supposed crimes committed against civilians in the Luhansk People's Republic. He was released five days later in exchange for nine Russian soldiers.[24]
18 March 2022 Yevhenii "Yevhen" Bal Russian soldiers Mariupol, Ukraine 78 Released, but died from injuries Yevhenii "Yevhen" Bal was a retired naval officer and captain in the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet he was also a journalist, writer and member of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine. On March 18 Russian soldiers broke into his home in Mariupol and held him captive for having photos of him with Ukrainian soldiers and his membership of NWUU. The soldiers would brutally beat him for three days, releasing him on March 21 they then told Bal "We are not at war with veterans of the USSR Navy."[25] Bal would never recover from his injuries and would die on April 2 five days before his 79th birthday, as a direct result of the injuries he sustained during his captivity.[26][27]
27 March 2022 Oleksandr Kryvenko Russian soldier Bucha, Ukraine 75 Murdered Oleksandr Kryvenko was the head of a modeling club, on 27 March, an intoxicated Russian soldier held him at gunpoint and forced him out of his house on Turgenev Street; the soldier then forced Kryvenko to ask his neighbors for alcohol, at one of the houses the soldier shot and killed Kryvenko.[28]
25 April 2022 Brandon Cuellar Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez and Jose Roman Portillo San Jose, California, US 3 Months Rescued Cuellar was alone in his family apartment for a few minutes while his grandmother unloaded groceries. Jose Roman Portillo snatched the baby and walked out. Cuellar was found the next day safe after a 20-hour search.[29] Ramirez, who had been faking a pregnancy, and Portillo plead guilty to the kidnapping.[30][31]
3 October 2022 Amandeep Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Jasleen Kaur, and Arrohi Dheri Unknown Merced, California, US 39, 36, 27, 8 months Murdered A family of three and the uncle were kidnapped from a central California business. A suspect was arrested in connection with the kidnapping as their whereabouts were unknown,[32] but they were found dead.[33]
7 February 2023 Phillip Mark Mehrtens TPNPB-OPM Paro, Nduga Regency, Indonesia 37 Released A pilot from Christchurch, New Zealand, Philip Mehrtens was held hostage by members of the TPNPB-OPM led by Egianus Kogoya. They took him and his five passengers, who were all native Nduga, from a small landing strip in Paro, shortly after landing his plane, they stormed the plane and set it on fire, the militants then released the five passengers, and took Mehrtens to several unknown locations.[34] Mehrtens was held hostage for 592 days, having been released on 21 September 2024 when the Indonesian government reached a agreement with Kogoya and the TPNPB-OPM.[35]
Demanus Gwijangge Unknown Released
Minda Gwijangge Unknown Released
Pelenus Gwijangge Unknown Released
Meita Gwijangge Unknown Released
Wetina W. Unknown Released
16 March 2023 Unnamed infant Unnamed couple Canton, Ohio 3 weeks Rescued The 3-week-old infant girl was abducted from her family home by a 31-year-old woman posing as a Child Protective Services worker. The child was rescued approximately 16 hours later, on 17 March. Her abductor and an alleged 21-year-old male accomplice were arrested.[36]
July 2023 Yanfei Bao Christchurch, New Zealand 44 Murdered Real estate agent Bao was last seen on 19 July 2023 in the suburb of Hornby, Christchurch. A 52-year-old man was arrested and charged with her kidnapping on 22 July 2023 at Christchurch Airport, after he purchased a one-way international flight.[37][38]
September 2023 Unnamed 17 year old Santa Maria, California 17 Rescued The 3 perpetrators kidnapped the 17-year-old after a traffic collision and forced them into their vehicle. Over several days, they would ask for ransom through phone calls and videos sent to the victim's parents.

Law enforcement was able to track the perpetrators through camera footage and vehicle identification and conducted a raid on September 22.[39]

23 September 2023 Unnamed 15-year-old girl Three males, including one minor Churu, Rajasthan, India 15 Murdered Student from Churu who disappeared on 23 September; her body was found in a well two days later. The student had been gang raped and murdered. Three males—one a minor—were arrested shortly thereafter.[40]
30 September 2023 Charlotte Sena Craig Nelson Ross Jr.[41] Moreau Lake State Park, New York 9 Rescued Kidnapped while camping with her family. The suspect was identified with a fingerprint from a ransom note he left at the family home. The girl was found alive 2 days later in the suspect's camper, where she was being held in a cabinet.[42]
7 October 2023 Mia Schem Hamas Islamist militants Eshkol Regional Council, Israel 21 Released A young Israeli woman and one of hundreds of Israeli citizens abducted by Hamas militants during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Schem was released by her abductors on 30 November as part of a prisoner exchange.[43]
7 October 2023 Bibas family Hamas Islamist militants Nir Oz kibbutz, Israel 34, 32, 4, 9 months Unknown An Israeli family of four abducted during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Efforts by Israel to release the family during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas were unsuccessful. Although disputed by Israel, Hamas militants subsequently claimed the mother and her children were killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike; this claim has been disputed by one hostage released during the temporary ceasefire, who informed Israeli services she had been ordered to falsely tell the father, Yarden Bibas, that his family had been killed during an IDF airstrike.[44]
7 October 2023 Hersh Goldberg-Polin Hamas Islamist militants Eshkol Regional Council, Israel 23 Murdered A 23-year-old American-Israeli abducted by Hamas militants from the Re'im music festival massacre. Goldberg-Polin is known to have been wounded prior to being taken captive. His body was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on 31 August 2024.[45][46]
16 December 2023 Fredrick Mwenengabo Unknown Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo 48-49 Released Frederick Mwenengabo, a Congolese-Canadian anthropologist and human rights activist who immigrated to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2009, was kidnapped while visiting family members in the DRC. He was held for over five months until being released to the Congolese National Intelligence Agency. He returned to Fredericton on 1 June 2024.[47]
8 June 2024 Yeri Bocoum Malian state security services Mali Unknown Released A Malian journalist and vice-president of the Association of Social Media Professionals and Web Actors (APMSWA). Bocoum was kidnapped from outside his Kati home by unknown individuals; he was freed on 27 June.[48]
17 October 2024 Elliot Eastman Four armed men Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte 26-year-old Unknown Elliot Onil Eastman, a 26-year-old American vloger-content creator of Vermont who married Karisha, a Muslim in Sama ceremony was abducted for ransom by four assailants armed with M16 rifles acting as police from the house of his in-laws in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion, Sibuco. While engaging the kidnappers, he suffered leg gunshot wound and was whisked to a motorboat boat from Sulu and Basilan to the International waters.[49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Neighbor Found Dead in Home Abducted, 'Asphyxiated' 6-Year-Old Faye Swetlik: Police". The Daily Beast. 18 February 2020.
  2. ^ Shingai Nyoka, 'Tortured Zimbabwe abductees' may face prosecution, BBC News, 19 May 2020. Accessed 30 May 2020.
  3. ^ Sederstrom, Jill (7 July 2020). "Police Believe 13-Year-Old California Girl Who Disappeared From Home Was Murdered". Oxygen.
  4. ^ "Update: Police release image of suspicious vehicle spotted around time of 13-year-old girl's disappearance". KGET-TV. 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ Kotowski, Jason (October 4, 2022). "Armando Cruz pleads guilty to rape and murder of Patricia Alatorre, 13". KGET-TV.
  6. ^ "Óscar Denis: Former Paraguay VP's Family Marks His 600 Days in Captivity". BBC News. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Minor girl rescued within 20 hours of abduction in Hyderabad; accused arrested". news.webindia123.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. ^ Blackall, Molly (7 March 2021). "Sarah Everard: new CCTV footage of missing woman emerges". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Dodd, Vikram (12 March 2021). "Sarah Everard: Met police officer charged with kidnap and murder". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Sarah Everard: 33-year-old's body found in large bag, court hears as police officer remanded into custody". Sky News. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  11. ^ Evans, Martin; Davies, Gareth (8 June 2021). "PC Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to kidnap and rape". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Sarah Everard: Police officer Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to murder". ITV News. 9 July 2021.
  13. ^ Adams, Lauren (13 January 2023). "Man charged with kidnapping 6-year-old girl in Valley Station takes plea deal". WLKY. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Daughter of Afghan envoy kidnapped and injured in Pakistan". Al Jazeera.
  15. ^ "Sex offender convicted of killing beloved Atlanta bartender sentenced to life in prison". WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta. 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  16. ^ "Man begins serving life sentence in 2021 kidnapping and murder of Atlanta bartender". 11Alive.com. 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  17. ^ Dada, Adekunle (1 September 2021). "Suspected Kidnapper Who Killed Man And Abducted His Daughter Shot Dead While Collecting Ransom In Adamawa". Within Nigeria.
  18. ^ "Cleo Smith: How Australian police found the missing four-year-old". BBC News. 10 November 2021.
  19. ^ McNeill, Heather (2023-04-05). "Cleo heard her name on radio while held captive by Terence Kelly during 18-day ordeal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
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  21. ^ a b "Bobbi-Anne McLeod: Man jailed for murder of Plymouth teen". BBC News. 19 May 2022.
  22. ^ Xu, Xiaofei; Chang, Wayne; Wurapa, Jade; Chen, Heather (8 April 2023). "A woman was chained and tortured in China and the images put online. Six people have been jailed". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Mother of Eight Chained Triggered Anger in China" (in Chinese). ABC. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Ukraine swapped nine Russian soldiers to free detained mayor". Reuters. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  25. ^ ""Civilian Voices Museum" - "Yevhen Bal was unable to recover from the torture"". civilvoicesmuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  26. ^ "Yevhenii Bal". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  27. ^ "Yevhen Bal". Requiem. 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  28. ^ ""All that I've achieved in life, everything I have now, is thanks to her." Six stories of Ukrainian educators killed by the war". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  29. ^ "3 people charged with kidnapping baby while grandmother unloaded groceries from car outside". CBS News. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  30. ^ "Suspects accused of kidnapping San Jose 3-month-old plead guilty to charges". ABC7 San Francisco. 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  31. ^ Czachor, Emily Mae (2023-03-21). "Pair who kidnapped baby from San Jose home are sentenced to prison - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  32. ^ Elamroussi, Aya; Chen, Natasha; Hannah, Jack (5 October 2022). "Search continues for abducted California family as relatives appeal for public's help in finding them". CNN. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Family Of 4 Found Dead After Being Kidnapped From California Business". ca.news.yahoo.com. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  34. ^ "The KKB Led By Egianus Kogoya Is Suspected Of Being The Mastermind Of The Burning Of The Susi Air Plane, Where There Was A Hostage-taking". VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  35. ^ "New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens freed by Papua rebels". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  36. ^ Willetts, Michelle (19 March 2023). "Infant Kidnapped from Family's Home by Fake Protective Services Worker, Ohio Cops Say". Yahoo News. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  37. ^ Sherwood, Sam; Bayer, Kurt (26 July 2023). "Missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao: 'I do not believe she is alive,' says top cop investigating disappearance". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  38. ^ Sherwood, Sam; Bayer, Kurt (24 July 2023). "Missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao: Alleged kidnapper booked one-way international flight". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  39. ^ Gillies, Andrew (2023-09-23). "Three men arrested at Santa Maria motel for felony kidnapping of a teenager Friday morning". News Channel 3-12. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  40. ^ "3 In Custody After Teen Gang-Raped In Rajasthan, Body Thrown Into Well". NDTV.com. September 26, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
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  43. ^ "Mia Schem: Wounded Festival-goer in Hamas Hostage Video Freed". BBC. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
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  47. ^ Jones, Lindsay (2 June 2024). "New Brunswick man back home after kidnapping in Congo says he won't stop fighting for peace". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  48. ^ "Mali: le journaliste Yeri Bocoum a été libéré". RFI.fr (in French). 2024-06-28..
  49. ^ Carreon, Frenzie (October 23, 2024). "American's love story takes a dark turn in Zamboanga del Norte". Rappler. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
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