a kidnapping attempt essay

A Kidnapping and Robbery Attempt in a Case Study Essay

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Kidnapping is a crime that involves the illegal seizing and carrying away of an individual by force or trickery, as well as the unauthorized detention and imprisonment of a person against their consent. Thus, in my opinion, a felony of attempt should be punished in the same way as the underlying substantive offence. In the preceding case, for example, one may contend that if Jerry is charged with the real criminal of bank robbery, he must have planned to execute the felony (Roberson & O’Reilley, 2020). Another example is that if a defendant is unable to carry out a murder, the crime is reduced to attempted murder. Even though the suspect did not obligate to the offense, he had the objective to do so, and hence the punishment ought to be the same. Regardless, other elements might have a role in the decision. Nevertheless, below is how I feel the above case should be handled. To begin with, abduction is classified as a second (legal wrongdoing) or a first-degree crime under criminal procedure. The third level of hijacking is a permissible offense classified as a class B felony.

Surprisingly, kidnapping is equivalent to grabbing to the following extent. Abduction in the first degree is also a class A-I legal violation (Roberson & O’Reilley, 2020). People are guilty of this offence if they expect an outsider to pay or transfer money or property as a payment or persuade them to stop pursuing a distinct possibility. Capturing may be a problematic criminal concept, especially given the distinctions involving snatching and illegal imprisonment. The differences between snatching, unlawful detention, as well as hijacking must be well understood.

Relating to the above discussion, Jerry blackmailed the cashier into assisting him in a bank robbery. Thus, he should not be prosecuted with abduction because he afterwards freed the teller. Nevertheless, he should be charged with attempted kidnapping to hold the bank employee captive and use him as a bargaining chip to depart. I believe that the robber’s aim to keep the teller prisoner is a crucial component because he had to flee when the police thwarted his scheme (Roberson & O’Reilley, 2020). Therefore, holding the clerk should not be regarded as abduction because the prisoner was not moved from one location to another.

For the crime of kidnapping to occur, the victim must have been transferred while being detained in grossly illegal custody. Thus, based on that fact, Jerry should not be convicted of the crime since he did not have transportation. Moreover, denying one’s freedom is the most significant aspect of abduction. While Jerry was able to depart the scene immediately, he compelled the cashier to follow him into the bank parking lot. When he gets to the intended area, though, he frees the hostage. As a result, Jerry does not intend to deprive the bank employee of their freedom since he later frees the individual based on the given facts.

In summary, the use of force towards the bank teller cannot be one of a separate crime from what is intended by the accused in the first place. Jerry wants to rob the bank, and thus, the crime is robbery. Any wrongdoing that arises from and within this intended offense will be absorbed into the crime itself. It is worth mentioning that robbery is a criminal offense under common law since threats or force are used to take things from another person illegally. As a result, the use of aggression against the bank clerk is an intrinsic aspect of the robbery that cannot be isolated from it.

Roberson, C., & O’Reilley, M. (2020). Principles of criminal law (7 th ed.). Pearson.

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22 Scarred-For-Life Victims Share Their Kidnapping Story

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These stories from Ask Reddit will remind you to stay far away from strangers.

1. I was beaten, drugged, and raped

When I was 19 I went to hang out with a guy I kind of knew and had started to like. He took me to his friend’s house where him and 3 other guys locked me in a room and beat me, drugged me, raped me and cut me open. After two months I finally convinced one of them to take me outside where I screamed and ran towards the nearest group of people I could find in a close by parking lot. It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.

2. I was tied up and threatened with a gun

“Was in college when I was tied up at gunpoint with my roommates. Got beat up pretty good they took everything from electronics down to our liquor. one of my roommates untied himself and called the cops. They were caught and now serving a lot of time behind bars.” — Buckeye19

3. My ex broke into my parent’s house to abduct me

“I was abducted from my parent’s house by my ex shortly after I broke up with him. I had just turned 19. He broke open the back door and put me in a head lock and threw me in the trunk of his car. I managed to break out into the back seat. He drove to a secluded location where we talked for a while. Then he drove to his place of work to get a shot gun to kill himself. (His words.) The police were there looking for him and shot a taser at him but missed. He jumped back in the car and we got in a high speed pursuit and he ended up crashing into a tree. He went to prison for four years and is out now.” — 5p33di3

4. I was taken by the neighbor who molested me

“I was around ten or eleven and was molested regularly by a neighbor, this molestation lasted over years and it was not one event. This neighbor had a country home that he had rented to his friends. One of his friends was also a pedophile. The two of them had arranged that I would be taken up to the country house. The friend picked me up on a Sunday morning and drove me there. I was excited to go because I had heard so much about this country home. I remember driving around with this guy and the next memory I had was waking up in a large camping trailer. At the base of the bed was a tripod and to my right was the driver, here is where I lose everyone. I get out of bed and I am disorientated, I get dressed and exit the trailer and start to walk down the street. I knock on a random door at a random house. The person that answers the door is one of the elementary school teachers from my community. At that very same moment the driver pulls up in front of the door and yells over to me that FD the neighbor, was looking for me and that I had to go back to see him, I returned to the car and the driver took me back to FD’s home in the city. I feel that if I did not knock at that door the outcome would have been different, the driver could not do another thing because now someone had seen him. Although I know of others who have been molested by the same neighbor, no one believes the story. To this day the neighbor’s good name is protected.” — bellisland

5. My cousin was abducted by a group of men

“Not my own abduction but my cousin was abducted. She lives in Mexico. One day as she was she was walking home after being dropped off by the school bus; she was pulled into a van by men wearing bandanas over there face. They tied her up and placed a hood over her head. They drove for a long time according to her. She was taken to a barn and was left there. Inside the barn were other young women tied up. She would ask what was going on and where are they? But the women wouldn’t answer her. She somehow got loose from her rope and started to look for an escape. She found a window and saw that the sun was setting. She broke the window with a chair. She urged the other girls to come with but they were too scared to leave. My cousin left them and she ran nonstop to the nearest town. She stayed off the roads in case they were looking for her. Luckily she found a phone in the town and called her family. She’s safe now but she could never remember where the location of the barn was. She still feels guilty about it all.” — TheDreamer_

6. We were pulled over by people with machine guns

“While on my way to visit relatives in Mexico my parents, little brother, grandma and I were pulled over in the middle of the night by what we thought were police. As they approached the car with sub machine guns and pistols we realized they were about to rob us. They pulled us out of our truck and loaded us face down in the back of their pickup and drove into a field. They were threatening us the whole time saying if we made any noise they would kill us. I’ve never been more terrified. When the truck finally stopped they told us to get out and to turn around. I was sure we were about to be executed in the middle of nowhere. Then they just drove off leaving us stranded. We wandered through the muddy field until we found the main road then followed it to a small village where we called the police. We spent the night in the police station waiting for my uncle to come get us and take us back to the U.S. border. I was 12 years old at the time and my brother was 10, we never recovered anything from that night.” — IDone_Goofed

7. A ‘friend’ took me away at gunpoint

“I was basically damn near kidnapped by a friend of sorts who was obsessed with me when I was 23. He had taken me from my driveway at gunpoint towards his car before my father came out and intervened. It was the most traumatizing event in my 30 years of existence, and I still suffer from mental health problems stemming from that day.” — MorbidlyMacabre

8. A drug dealer abducted me and my brother

“I was told about it from my dad and older brother at Christmas 4 years ago. Apparently my dad owed these two guys money for some meth and when my dad didn’t pay they took my brother and I. I was 3 and my brother was five. My dad, somehow through friends or some mutual acquaintance, found out we were holed up in a shabby hotel. He showed up with a wooden baseball bat and beat the shit out of one of the guys while the other one ran off. My brother told me the story and when I asked my dad if it was true he didn’t respond at first. The shame that covered his face said a million things I never understood about my childhood. Then he said, ‘Yes, and I’m still very sorry.'” — [deleted]

9. My uncle was held hostage

“My uncle was kidnapped and held hostage before being rescued one month later on Christmas Eve 1995. It was Thanksgiving weekend. A family from his church was selling their car but had gone out of town for the holiday. They asked him to show the car to any potential buyers. While on a test drive, a hood was thrown over his head, his hands and feet were bound, and he was taken to a location where he was held. Ransom demands were made but refused. My aunt and uncle are church missionaries and meeting ransom demands would put everyone in the field in danger. His rescue was incredible and witnessing the reunion between he, our aunt, and our four young cousins was the most emotional experience of my life at that time. Listening to him recount his experience is intense and awesome. He is the same loving, wonderful, strong man he was before — he reports nor displays any emotional or mental trauma. All of his kidnappers were killed during his rescue. They’ve recently retired from field missions and now tour North and South America so that my uncle can share his story.” — PrivateSchoolChick

10. A kidnap victim was taken to my apartment

“Couple years ago a guy on crutches was kidnapped and taken to my house (by some friends of my flatmate), where he was tortured overnight and released in the morning. I was in another room watching a movie, then went to bed, still completely oblivious. Ended up having to testify at the trial.” — reaperteddy

11. My grandmother was grabbed by a man at the movies

“My grandma (great aunt, but like a grandma) was kidnapped when she was 8. Its a long story, but here it goes. She was sent of to babysit her 6 year old cousin at the theater (yeah, an 8 year old babysitting a 6 year old, great idea) and they started watching the Sunday cartoons. The plan was that they would meet their parents outside of the theater when the movie finishes. About an hour or so into the showing, a man came in to the theater, and walked straight to her row. He grabbed her by the wrist, where she was wearing a locket, and told her it was time to go. She got up with him, and they started walking out of the theater. About 50-60 years ago (roughly the time this happened), They used to have attendants at the doors of the movie theater. When walking by the attendant, there just happened to be a manager standing there also. She was afraid he would hurt her if she said anything, but she decided to take a chance. Walking by the two men, she said, ‘Where are we going, you are not my father.’ And he squeezed her locket, and ran pulling her. The two men gave chase. He made it to the parking lot, when she started to fight back. She stopped running, and was trying to pull her arm off. The man, now realizing that he had no chance with her, threw her into the gutter, and jumped into his car. He sped off, but not before someone was able write down the license plate number. When she was questioned by the police, she wasn’t really able to tell them much. She gave his description (which she says the closest person she can describe as looking slightly like him was George Costanza) and told them that she remembered he was wearing a green tie, and had an accent. The police, having processed the license plate by now, decided to pay him a visit. They went to the house, and the door was answered by a boy of about 11 years old. The police walked in, and found a man fitting the description. He denied everything, until they searched his closet. Balled on the floor was the same green tie that my grandma had described to them. They took him in, and he confessed to everything. This guy had a family. 2 kids, a wife, he was a Russian immigrant to come work in the small Midwest towns factory. What even would he have done with her if he had successfully kidnapped her? My grandma says she never got the answer to that. After she successfully chose him in a line up, her family was told that this wasn’t his first kidnapping attempt. Or his second. Or his fifth. It was his ELEVENTH attempt! He first started out with a girl of about 18. Then every time he failed, he went younger and younger, until he reached my 8 year old (at the time) grandma. He was tried at court, and yet again, was released after 6 months in prison. He went on to kidnap two more girls after my Grandma. When telling us the story, she showed us the scar of where he clenched down on her locket.” — Lucasfc

12. I escaped an attempted kidnapping

“I escaped an attempted kidnapping several years ago in my hometown. I had left my cell phone at home that day. By the time I knocked off, it was dark, but I didn’t live too far away. I started walking back to my apartment listening to music when a blue Mini Cooper pulled up beside me and started yelling something. My boss drove a Mini as well, so I took my headphones off and asked him to repeat himself, which he was saying he would give me a ride and to trust him. I declined after realizing that it wasn’t my boss and kept walking. He got out of his car and started chasing me down. I ran like hell, but he was faster and caught me by the arm and gripped on pretty tightly. I fought hard, but I’m a pretty tiny woman and he was definitely stronger than me. I screamed my head off hoping someone was still awake in the neighborhood and could come help me. If it weren’t for the bear spray my brother had given me to keep as protection when I walked home, I don’t know what would have happened. I sprayed that fucker right in the face and ran for my life. I ended up running into two people out jogging who had heard me screaming and they walked me home. Called my parents and the cops the second I got in the door, but nothing came out of it.” — UrethraFranklin13

13. A child molester tried to steal a group of kids

“When I was 10, on November 1st, this guy came up to me and some kids in my apartment complex, and offered to take us trick-or-treating. Naturally, the 4-7 year olds bolted towards him. My friend (12) and myself were a bit more skeptical but decided to walk with him to make sure nothing happened to the kids. I had a pocket knife, and being 10, that made me think I was fucking invincible. So he starts taking us to random doors in the complex and knocking and doing the whole trick or treat thing. The little kids are going nuts, to them, there’s now 2 days of Halloween. The few houses are owned by fucking idiots apparently, because they were just kind of surprised but still handed out some candy if they had any. This goes on for about an hour and the parents get nervous (not that any of us know) and the guy offers to give us a ride to another complex. The fucking 4-7 year olds bolt for the car, which was oddly parked. It was parked parallel in 3 perpendicular spots (assumedly so he could just drive out easily). AND THE LITTLE SHITS GET IN. Luckily, their mom notices, freaks the fuck out and calls the cops. Turns out, dude’s a child molester, and broke allll sorts of parole/legal boundaries. Guy gets put in the car, and the cops talk to all of us for a couple minutes. Granted, we didn’t actually get kidnapped, but it was still pretty damn scary to think how close I was to seeing 2 little kids get abducted.” — [deleted]

14. My grandmother was kidnapped and murdered

“My mom told me about my grandma being kidnapped in Gary Indiana during civil rights protests and she was murdered. She took the garbage out while my grandpa was watching the kids after dinner she never came back. Found the body sometime later really messed my grandpa up.” — Oddfeeling

15. My mother refused to return us to our father

“I was 6, my brother was 5, and our mom decided one time she just wasn’t going to give us back to my dad. So we packed some of our things into a couple small suitcases and a couple black garbage bags. It was very spontaneous, one minute we were watching tv and then we had less than an hour to decide which of our possessions would be going with us. We were gone for about 9 months, living in an awesome house with a spiral staircase in central Oregon. Child services found us when my mom registered us for school. So my brother and I were pulled out of class on the first day of school by police officers and taken to a conference room with two officers, the school counselor, and the principal. We were questioned about why we never contacted the police (because we were children who had little idea of what was really going on, we moved to a new house with our mom and got new skate boards). We were resistant to cooperate, because they were very clear that we wouldn’t see our mom anymore and they were taking us back to Seattle. We didn’t want to live with our dad, he didn’t know how to cook. So my brother snapped, and started screaming and running around the room. One of the officers grabbed him, which transformed me into a very defensive big sister. I started kicking the officer holding my brother. My brother got a hold of the officers baton and hit the guy with it. At this point everyone had had enough of our shit, my brother (a 5 year old boy) was handcuffed, and I was picked up by my ankles and carried outside (up unto that point I was doing a great deal of kicking). We were then manually transported through the school, right as classes were being released for lunch. I was wearing a blue cotton dress, and at 30 years old I vividly remember being hauled out through the school by my ankles and the embarrassment of knowing my underwear were showing. We were put into the back of the police car, like criminals and driven to child services in Seattle. No we didn’t stop for food or bathroom breaks. My brother and I both pissed our clothes in the car. We were so hungry when we got dropped off at the office building but all they had was cocoa. We were never scared with our mom, our needs were met and we were pretty happy. The way we were treated through the whole “rescue” was dehumanizing. The courts awarded my dad full custody and a restraining order between us and our mother until we were 18. My father was a neglectful parent, as well as physically abusive. I can’t even count the number of times he was in court for child abuse, he used to brag about how all they would do is make him take an anger management course and how well he could bullshit his way through them.” — uncomfortably__numb

16. A man ‘looking for a lost dog’ tried to take me away

“When I was about 8 years old I was walking to my friends house (3 houses away) and I’ll never forget it a dark/olive green 2004ish Taurus pulled up next to me and asked me If I had seen his dog named Sirus and told me to come closer so he could show me a picture of him and when I walked over to him he grabbed my sleeve and tried to pull me in the car. I started screaming at the top of my lungs and I looked over as the mail man turned onto my street and saw what was happening. The man let go of me and sped off. Before anything else could happen I ran into my friends house.” — Dallas343

17. Someone tried to kidnap me in a public restroom

“When I was young, can’t remember how old I was… just that when I asked to go to the bathroom at the mall, my mom let me go by myself in the men’s room. Standing at a urinal doing my thing, I was suddenly grabbed from behind, almost like a bear hug, and almost being dragged. I kicked and screamed, loudly, and finally broke free. To this day (38 now) i still will not use public bathrooms unless I can lock the door and am the only person who can be inside.” — tightiewhities37

18. A man pulled my hair to yank me inside his car

“When I was 14, I was waiting for the bus at the end of my driveway and this pick up truck pulled off the road onto the driveway. The drive kept waving me closer to the cab and held up a map book. At first he wouldn’t roll down the window, but he did and said he needed direction to wherever [can’t remember]. I went closer to the window and I didn’t realize what was happening until he reached across and attempted to grab me by the hair. I dropped my book bag and ran for the house while he sped off. Woke my mom up and she flipped out. Went to the window to look out it and, surprise surprise, the truck was sitting across the street and we could see the dude looking up at the house, which made me flip out. I assume he saw my mom looking because he left rubber getting out of there. My mom called the cops and a patrolman showed up and took information on the truck. Me and my mom went to the police station and I talked to a detective and they did a composite sketch of the guy. The detective left to take a call and came back saying they had pulled someone over and wanted me to ID the driver. They put me in the back of an unmarked car with tinted windows and drove me past a guy who was being questioned outside his truck not too far from my home. It was him and I had my first panic attack in my life. I thought for sure he could see me. They charged him with attempted kidnapping and something else that I don’t remember. It made all the local newspapers, but my mother wouldn’t let me read them because they wanted me to testify and I guess they didn’t want whatever was there to, I dunno, spoil my testimony? They pulled him over, btw, in front of an elementary school where he was idling. I ended up testifying for the DA via videotaped interview. He was acquitted because he claimed he was deaf or something. I never quite understood how that worked. Found out later that he had been arrested for similar things and some sex crimes, but this was before the sex offender registry. Also found out why they didn’t want me to read the papers–when they searched his truck, they found rope, duct tape, a bunch of sex toys, vaseline, and an ax. It certainly could have been a coincidence, but… My family filed a restraining order against him and apparently he was ordered to stay away from schools. It wrecked me for awhile–I had trouble going to school because I kept having panic attacks, I kept thinking I saw his truck everywhere, and I kept hiding from windows and the like. Had a lot of nightmares and got diagnosed with PTSD. For a long time, I had trouble getting past what might have happened if I hadn’t gotten away.” — needlestuck

19. A sketchy car pulled up beside us

“Closest thing that happened was my cousin and I were walking home from my next-door neighbor’s house. It was getting dark and we were 6 or 7 I think and a car pulled up, door opened, and a foot stepped out. I was able to kick into panic and yell run. My cousin froze for a second but ran after. We were essentially in front of my house so we just climbed through the gate (two think bars horizontally) and run towards the house. I looked back and the car had slammed the door and sped off.” — AdrianHD

20. My father took me across the country

“I was about 2 years old. My parents had split up, and my father had weekend visitation. From what I understand, my mother went to pick me up from my father’s house and no one was there. He took me across the country, it was months before my mother was able to find out where I was, get his custody rights revoked, and get me back.” — coinoperatedgirl

21. My mother’s boyfriend took me and my brother

“This will probably get buried, but here it goes. When I was 11 my mom was dating a pretty shady guy and while they were in the process of breaking up, he decided to kidnap my brother my next door neighbor and I. One day he comes in our house and tells us to get in his car, were going for a ride. He then took us to a car dealership and kept us there for 8 hours or so holding us ransom until my mom came with money to buy him a new car. The neighbors dad finally came to pick us up and pay him off and we never saw him again. Pretty sure my mom got a restraining order after that.” — salem85

22. A hand grabbed my neck to abduct me

When I was eleven years old we lived in a small villa behind a Canadian university. Just for reference we live in a Muslim country — Dubai UAE. When I was 11-14 I was really into skateboarding and would skate in front of our house. I heard my mother calling my name, and as I picked up the skateboard, a white Nissan Patrol came flying down the street with the passenger’s door wide open. I dropped my board and fled for the gate. As I opened the metal gate I felt a cold hand grab my neck and try to pull me. I grabbed the gate and forced myself through it, closing it behind me. I was not abducted, but the feeling of the cold hand still haunts me ten years later.” –Maxmakesthemillion

Holly Riordan is the author of Lifeless Souls , available here .

About the author

Holly Riordan

Holly is the author of Severe(d): A Creepy Poetry Collection .

The Guilty Twin

The guilt will kill you. Unless your family does first…

The new thriller by Holly Riordan explores the devastating disappearance of a beloved twin sister and the secrets that can no longer remain hidden.

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Essay About Kidnappings

Our society is facing many problems in our world today. Many of these problems appear on news and around our society. These are issues mostly like stealing, crime, and immigration which impacts many people in their daily lives because they are experiencing similar issues in there own life. Many times it 's difficult to know how to deal with the issues. Richard Sterns said, " It 's kidnappings, mutilation, and rape against women and children. We all have blood on our hands, letting this go." Major problems occur everywhere around us. Nearly, 203,000 women and children are abducted each year, said by CNN news. Mainly, 20-80 % are strangers who do this, told by parent magazine. The Society 's biggest problem is kidnappings. Kidnappings have a negative effect on the way we interact with each person. Psychological trauma is a negative way of being …show more content…

Kidnappings often have many causes behind its issue. It can be costly because you would have to pay the price for the release if you were abducted for money or because they were rich, jealous and selfish. Religion can be another cause, since religion may make us do wrong things. It can lead to overshadow in doing the wrong things. Greed makes you want everything they have that you don 't have and others do. Revenge makes you cause detriment, makes you lie, makes you become angry in situations, causes trouble, and stealing to happen. Hate shatters you in pieces, makes you want to cheat people, makes you want to insult, causes you to betray, and makes you feel weak and poor in front of the public. Clothes can be another cause because the way women 's dress can lead to rape. The short attires that women 's wear is a way for abducting to occur, for example, in short clothes body parts can be seen. Many causes lead to things that make a huge effect on that person who is the victim and has no control over the situation. Many causes of greed, money, and other things can be a huge issue that occurs abducting to

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More about Essay About Kidnappings

A Kidnap, by Lydia Chepkirui

lydia chepkirui the kidnap first place 4th competition mogonjet may 2013

Lift the Lid is proud to announce the winner of the 4th Annual Writing Competition at Mogonjet Secondary School in Kericho, Kenya. Lydia Chepkirui was chosen from six finalists for her personal essay “A Kidnap.”

Read her chilling true-life story.

An award of $100 was given to Lydia, $50 to benefit her class and $50 to help with school fees. We admire her bravery for revisiting the most frightening time of her life to write about when she was kidnapped and how she managed to escape. Her story is important to share, particularly how she became abducted by people she knew and how she kept a level head despite fearing for her life.

Congratulations Lydia on your noble and well-written essay!

If You Like This Story, Please Share!

4th Annual Writing Competition at Happy Family Children’s Village! – July 2024

Olivia’s New Wheelchair! – July 2024

Stephano’s Letter to His Father – July 2024

How We Make Our World a Better Place – Mogonjet Secondary School – April 2024

Congratulations, Lydia! You are a talented writer, and clearly you put time and effort into your work. (I still get chills when I think of your experience.)

I hope to see more of your writing in the future!

Congratulations, Lydia! Your creativity is now turning your wealth. Make maximum use of the opportunity at hand. Hope to see you represent us all…. God be with you.

She is so creative and I will want to join in

kidnapping essay

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Kidnapping Of Lindbergh Kidnapping

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Kidnapping is a global and historic issue all around the world, and although government is doing all that they can to ensure that kidnappers are captured and punished, the numbers are steal increasingly high. Kidnapping is abducting and holding anybody captive. There are many causes of kidnapping, among them are unemployment, poverty, religion, and so on. The rate of kidnapping in North America is attracting the attention of people all over the globe. Some people have even taken it as their business

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Non Custodial Parent Kidnapping

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Essay On Lindbergh Kidnapping

Courts may choose not to hear or to hear these cases (uscourts.gov). One of the most famous kidnapping cases of all time would be the baby Lindbergh kidnapping case of 1932. Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., 20-month-old son of the famous aviator and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped on March 1, 1932, from the nursery of the Lindbergh home near Hopewell, New Jersey. Because this was a kidnapping the state would have the first jurisdiction over the case. As the police search the the home a

Case Kidnapping: an Unsettling Exploration of Human Vulnerability

Categories: Exploration Mental Health

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Published: Jun 6, 2024

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The anatomy of kidnapping, psychological and social repercussions, legal and ethical considerations, conclusion: a call for comprehensive solutions.

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Kidnapping and hostage-taking: a review of effects, coping and resilience

Introduction.

Although the history of kidnapping and hostage-taking is a very long one, it is only relatively recently that there has been a systematic attempt to understand the effects, both long-term and short-term, on individuals and their families. This is an important issue for clinical and academic reasons. The advice of mental health professionals is sought with increasing frequency with regard to the strategic management of hostage incidents and the clinical management of those who have been abducted. There is evidence to suggest that how best to help those who have been taken hostage is a sensitive and complex matter, and those who deal with such individuals should be as well informed as possible since such events can have long-term adverse consequences, particularly on young children.

This paper addresses the following:

the background in terms of the history of this phenomenon, the motives behind it and the authorities' responses thereto;
the psychological and physical effects of being taken hostage;
coping and survival strategies;
issues which require further research.

Early texts refer to the kidnapping of Abram's nephew (Lot), Julius Caesar and Richard the Lionheart. In medieval times, knights displayed their noble heritage through heraldic devices in the hope that their higher perceived market value would increase their chances of being kept alive for ransom rather than being killed. In the 17th century, children were stolen from their families for ‘export’ to the North American colonies as servants and labourers. (Hence, ‘kid’ meaning ‘child’, and ‘nap’ or ‘nab’ meaning ‘to snatch’.) Press-ganging was a means of ensuring an adequate supply of personnel for the merchant fleet during the 19th century.

Certain high profile events, much due to the efforts of the media, highlighted the psychological impact of kidnapping. For example, one of the earliest was the kidnapping on 1 March 1932 by Bruno Hauptmann, a German carpenter, of Colonel Charles Lindbergh's son for ransom. 1 The suffering of the child's parents, and the difficulties of the police enquiry, were exacerbated by widespread speculation and misinformation, and serial random notes. The mutilated body of the child was found and the perpetrator was executed on 3 April 1936. This event caused public revulsion, and the revision of the authorities' bargaining and investigating methods, particularly by the FBI, and even the suicide of a waitress to the family, who was cleared in the enquiries.

In 1972, the ‘Black September’ group (an auxiliary faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation) took hostage the Israeli wrestling team at the Munich Olympics. The unsuccessful negotiations, and the tragic deaths of the whole team during an abortive rescue effort by the German Border Police, were relayed throughout the world by the international media. 2 Also, after this tragedy, many international authorities revised their strategies for dealing with hostage incidents and sieges.

Motives for taking hostages

Motives can be divided into ‘expressive’ (i.e. an effort to voice and/or publicize a grievance or express a frustrated emotion) and ‘instrumental’ (i.e. to obtain a particular outcome such as ransom). 3 In reality it is usually difficult to identify any single motive, particularly when the event is terrorist-inspired. Material motives (e.g. ransom) may be conveniently masked by alleged religious, political and moral ones. Moreover, ransoms may be used to fund political and religious activities. Also, some insurgency groups sell hostages on to other groups for their own purposes.

The taking of foreign hostages has become a particularly popular modus operandi for terrorists (who tend to be well-organized and selective in their ‘target’ hostages), particularly due to their cynical but generally effective use of extensive media coverage. Also, the frequency of kidnapping of overseas personnel has markedly increased in Afghanistan since the US invasion in 2001. Unfortunately, the death toll among hostages is high in Afghanistan and Iraq. A particularly distasteful feature of hostage-taking in these countries is the video-taped executions of hostages, such as those of Nick Berg (a US businessman) and Ronald Schultz (a US security consultant), and their broadcast by Al Jazeera or Al Arabia: such broadcasts represent, however, a powerful psychological weapon, which, as indicated by Pape, 4 runs the risk of losing public support and sympathy.

Other areas which have become high-risk ones for hostage-taking are Nigeria and Colombia. Most incidents in the former are carried out by criminal gangs for ransom, such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta – MEND. Ransoms in both countries are often on a modest scale to ensure they can be paid. This strategy is sometimes referred to as ‘Express Kidnapping’. The frequency of hostage incidents in Colombia has increased 1600% between 1987 and 2000. 5 The motives there appear to be largely criminal, for financial gain, rather than political. Sometimes such events are described as ‘Economic Extortive Kidnapping’. These events can have demoralizing effects on families, who may lose all faith in supportive agencies and organizations, according to a follow-up study by Navia and Ossa. 5

Authorities' responses

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the prevailing model of dealing with such incidents, particularly in the prisons of the USA, had been the ‘Suppression Model’ (i.e. the use of overwhelming physical force). 6 This approach can still be used successfully as was shown by the interventions of the Special Air Service in response to the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 in London. However, such successes are not common, and they require extremely careful planning and execution. Armed response has now generally yielded to the techniques of negotiation and conflict resolution in recognition of the risks that an armed response creates for hostages. Such risks were tragically demonstrated at the 1972 Munich Olympics. 2 More recently, the catastrophic failures by the Russian authorities to rescue the patrons of the Dubrovka theatre in Moscow in 2002 and the children and staff of the Beslan school in 2004, confirmed how risky armed intervention by the authorities can be. The last two incidents resulted in the deaths of 130 and 334 hostages, respectively.

From a psychological point of view, negotiation ‘buys time’ to enable:

hostages, perpetrators and the authorities to ‘cool down’;
the authorities to clarify the motives of the perpetrator(s);
the authorities to gather intelligence;
the authorities to formulate a rescue strategy (should negotiation fail).

Unfortunately, from the hostages' point of view progress may seem to be very slow, and they commonly wonder why the authorities do not ‘do something’, including effecting their rescue by force.

Psychological and physical effects of being a hostage

For ethical and practical reasons, particularly if children are involved, the follow-up of hostages on release is difficult. 7 Thus, the scientific and clinical database is relatively modest. Much reliance is therefore placed on autobiographical and biographical accounts of high profile hostages (e.g. Waite, 8 Slater, 9 Keenan 10 and Shaw 11 ).

Psychological effects

In general terms, the psychological impact of being taken hostage is similar to that of being exposed to other trauma, including terrorist incidents and disasters for adults 12 and children. 13

Typical adult reactions include:

Cognitive : impaired memory and concentration; confusion and disorientation; intrusive thoughts (‘flashbacks’) and memories; denial (i.e. that the event has happened); hypervigilance and hyperarousal (a state of feeling too aroused, with a profound fear of another incident);
Emotional : shock and numbness; fear and anxiety (but panic is not common); 14 helplessness and hopelessness; dissociation (feeling numb and ‘switched off’ emotionally); anger (at anybody – perpetrators, themselves and the authorities); anhedonia (loss of pleasure in doing that which was previously pleasurable); depression (a reaction to loss); guilt (e.g. at having survived if others died, and for being taken hostage);
Social : withdrawal; irritability; avoidance (of reminders of the event).

Denial (i.e. a complete or partial failure to acknowledge what has really happened) has often been maligned as a response to extreme stress, but it has survival value (at least in the short term) by allowing the individual a delayed period during which he/she has time to adjust to a painful reality. For example, some hostages in the Moscow theatre siege initially believed that the appearance of the heavily armed Chechnyan rebels was part of the military musical performance. 15

Two extreme reactions have also been noted, namely, ‘frozen fright’ and ‘psychological infantilism’. 16 The former refers to a paralysis of the normal emotional reactivity of the individual, and the latter reaction is characterized by regressed behaviour such as clinging and excessive dependence on the captors.

Extended periods of captivity may also lead to ‘learned helplessness’ 17 in which individuals come to believe that no matter what they do to improve their circumstances, nothing is effective. This is reminiscent of the automaton-like state reported by concentration camp victims (‘walking corpses’). 18

Genuine psychopathology has also been noted. A follow-up study of ransom victims in Sardinia found that about 50% suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about 30% experienced major depression. 19 The International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD-10) 20 also recognizes the ‘Enduring personality change after a catastrophic experience’ (F62.0) as a possible chronic outcome after a hostage incident. This condition is characterized by:

a hostile or mistrustful attitude;
social withdrawal and estrangement;
feelings of emptiness or hopelessness;
a chronic feeling of being ‘on edge’ as if constantly threatened.

For the diagnosis to be made the symptoms must have endured for at least two years.

The severe and sustained impact on children is demonstrated by several abductions, including that of the children involved in the Chowchilla incident in San Francisco. Terr 21 confirmed, after that incident (in which 26 children and their driver were abducted and held in a vehicle underground) all the children displayed signs of PTSD, and some symptoms worsened over time (e.g. shame, pessimism and ‘death dreams’).

Denial, ‘frozen fright’, ‘psychological infantilism’ and ‘learned helplessness’ are not age-specific. Children may also display: school refusal, loss of interest in studies, dependent and regressed behaviour, preoccupation with the event, playing at being the ‘rescuer’, stubborn and oppositional behaviour, and risk-taking. The impact can be particularly serious if the children have been detained over an extended period and if the incident entailed a breach of trust. 22

Physical effects

Hostages are likely to have to endure, particularly during sustained periods of captivity, an exacerbation of pre-existent physical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes. Also, the detention itself may generate new conditions due to a lack of the basics of healthy living, such as a nutritious diet, warmth, exercise, fresh air and sleep.

At-risk and resilience factors

As yet there is no clear delineation of all factors which conduce to an adverse outcome following being taken hostage. However, there is evidence that women (especially younger women), more than men, are at risk of such an outcome, as are those of low educational level, and those exposed to an extended period of captivity. 23 An extensive review 24 also suggests that the following may contribute to a poorer post-release adjustment: passive-dependent traits; a belief that one's fate is exclusively in the hands of others; and a dogmatic-authoritarian attitude. Among children, younger age and pre-existent family problems, 15 and the loss of education and the need for post-incident medical care 25 may also contribute to adjustment problems.

In recent years, there has been a move in the trauma field from a ‘pathogenic’ model (which emphasizes illness and problems of adjustment) to a ‘resilience’ model (which emphasizes coping and ‘personal growth’ through adversity). While there are uncertainties as to how best to define and measure resilience, this perspective offers a more positive and optimistic approach. Certainly, it is worth emphasizing that many survivors do appear to cope over time, particularly if their family and social environment is supportive. Moreover, a number of high profile hostages (e.g. Terry Waite 8 ) have demonstrated how they have used their experiences constructively after their release. Adopting a ‘resilience’ approach to this kind of trauma may also enhance our understanding the best coping strategies for hostages during their captivity, and for the development of better post-incident care management for them.

Coping and survival strategies

Although it is usually regarded as an ‘effect’ of being taken hostage, the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ will be regarded here as a means of coping and surviving since it certainly enables, on many occasions, hostages to deal with extreme and life-threatening circumstances. The term was first coined by criminologist, Nils Bejerot, to describe the unexpected reactions of hostages both during and after an armed bank raid in Sweden in 1973. 26 It was noted that, despite being subject to a life-threatening situation by the raiders, the hostages (three women and one man) forged positive relationships with their captors even to the point of helping to finance their defence after their apprehension. Conversely, the hostage-takers began to bond with their captives. This paradoxical reaction has been noted in many other incidents. The 10-year-old girl, Natascha Kampusch, who was held captive for eight years bonded with her abductor to such an extent that, on his suicide immediately after her escape, she blamed the police for his death and clearly grieved his death. 27

It is not clear why some individuals react in this fashion while others do not. Some merely seek to escape. For example, in Georgia, Peter Shaw, a British financial adviser, was detained in freezing underground conditions and regularly beaten. Fearing his imminent execution, he courageously sought escape. Others maintain hostility to their captors and refusal to accede to requests to convert to Islam (e.g. Yvonne Ridley, 28 a British journalist held for 11 days by the Taliban). However, certain conditions do increase the likelihood of the Stockholm reaction. These include:

an extended and emotionally charged environment;
an adverse environment shared by hostages and hostage-takers (e.g. poor diet and physical discomfort);
when threats to life are not carried out (e.g. ‘mock executions’);
when there has to be a marked dependence by the hostages on the hostage-takers for even the most basic needs;
when there are opportunities for bonding between captives and their captors in circumstances in which the former have not been ‘dehumanized’. (Some hostage-takers aim to dehumanize hostages by hooding them, depriving them of their names, any identifying details and possessions, treating them as ‘animals’ and changing regularly their guards – as did Saddam Hussein with his ‘human shields’ in Kuwait.)

The disadvantages of this reaction are that the hostages after the incident may feel guilty and embarrassed about the way they have reacted. It means that the authorities cannot totally rely on hostages for accurate intelligence or expect them to contribute to any escape plan.

Although PTSD and the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ reaction both reflect the severity of the experience, the former is more related to the level of physical violence displayed towards the hostage, whereas the latter reaction is correlated with the level of humiliation and deprivation. 21 For some individuals it may represent their hope for escape or a way of achieving a psychological separation between their previous ‘normal’ way of life and their new circumstances. The validity of the concept has been challenged by Namnyak et al. , 26 and they suggest that its features lack rigorous empirical evaluation, as well as validated diagnostic criteria, but owes much to the bias of personal and media reporting. Others, for example Cantor and Price, 29 view this concept through the prism of evolutionary theory in a fashion which casts light on this phenomenon as well as on other unequal power relationships, including ‘boy soldiers’ and their leaders, abused children and their parents, and cases of complex PTSD.

Other individual methods of coping with extended captivity include: use of distraction (e.g. mental arithmetic, reading and fantasy); regular discipline (e.g. with regard to personal hygiene and exercise); taking one day at a time; and trying to find something positive in the situation (e.g. Terry Waite 8 began preparing in his mind his autobiography). Jacobsen describes how a group of adolescents, following a skyjacking, viewed their experience initially with a sense of excitement and adventure and were particularly helpful to young mothers with children on the aircraft. 30

Issues which require further research

There are extensive but important gaps in the literature. For example, in relation to attachment theory, it is not clear whether children in particular are affected principally by the emotional stimulation or drive reduction, as the Stockholm Syndrome develops. What underpins this bonding, for different individuals in different crises, has yet to be determined. It is also unclear to what extent the apparent motives of the perpetrators influences the bonding between captor and captive (although it can be difficult to identify the true motives of, for example, terrorists who take hostages). We also need to know more about the interaction between terrorists (who characteristically create a ‘public’ event) and other external agencies, such as the authorities and the media, and the terrorists themselves whose motives, level of determination etc may not be identical. 31 With regard to psychological interventions, particularly in the case of children, we also lack much clarity.

This is a complex and delicate area of research; perpetrators may be inaccessible or unreliable witnesses, and there is the omnipresent risk of re-traumatizing survivors through rehearsal of deeply disturbing experiences. Our current database is however too narrow to fashion a better understanding of such events and how to devise strategies and associated training to deal with them.

This review is inevitably constrained by word length, and it is confined to articles cast in English. It is not able to address the impact of hostage-taking and kidnapping on the families of the victims or on those, such as therapists and police family liaison officers who have to respond to the psychological aftermath of such incidents. This review has however highlighted key issues relating to the motives underlying crimes of this kind and how individuals cope during them and subsequently react. While survivors of such experiences commonly demonstrate remarkable resilience, there is no doubt that those experiences can produce a legacy of chronic emotional disturbance and compromised relationships.

DECLARATIONS —

Competing interests DAA is a part-time police consultant, paid by honorarium to the Robert Gordon University, and an unpaid trainer in hostage negotiation at the Scottish Police College

Funding None

Ethical approval Not applicable

Guarantor DAA

Contributorship Both authors contributed equally with regard to the literature search and the drafting of the article

Acknowledgements

A Personal Narrative About Nearly Being Kidnapped

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Adjusting to life after being held hostage or kidnapped

Hostage and kidnap survivors can experience stress reactions including denial, impaired memory, shock, numbness, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, and a sense of helplessness.

Physical Abuse and Violence

Adjusting to life after being held hostage or kidnapped

Freedom almost always brings a sense of elation and relief. However, adjusting back to the real world after being held hostage can be just as difficult as abruptly leaving it. Upon release, many hostage survivors are faced with transitioning from conditions of isolation and helplessness to sensory overload and freedom. This transition often results in significant adjustment difficulties.

Hostage and kidnap survivors can experience stress reactions. Typical reactions occur in:

Thinking: Intrusive thoughts, denial, impaired memory, decreased concentration, being overcautious and aware, confusion, or fear of the event happening again
Emotions: Shock, numbness, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, and a sense of helplessness
Interactions: Withdrawal and avoidance of family, friends, activities, and being on edge

Such reactions to an extremely stressful event are understandable and normal. These are typical responses and generally decrease after a period of time. It is common for people’s reactions to vary from one individual to another.

According to research, hostage survivors often develop an unconscious bond to their captors and experience grief if their captors are harmed. They may also feel guilty for developing a bond. This is typically referred to as the Stockholm syndrome.

Hostage survivors may also have feelings of guilt for surviving while others did not. It is important for survivors to recognize that these are usual human reactions to being held captive.

When hostages are released, it is essential for them to:

Receive medical attention
Be in a safe and secure environment
Connect with loved ones
Have an opportunity to talk or journal their experience if and when they choose
Receive resources and information about how to seek counseling, particularly if their distress from the incident is interfering with their daily lives
Protect their privacy (e.g. avoid media overexposure including watching and listening to news and participating in media interviews)
Take time to adjust back into family and work

Family and friends can support survivors by listening, being patient, and focusing on their freedom instead of engaging in negative talk about the captors.

It is important to realize that families and friends of hostages are confronted with numerous issues in coping with fears and uncertainties as well and may also need support in dealing with their own emotional reactions.

Recovery and the future

Released hostages need time to recover from the physical, mental, and emotional difficulties they faced. However, it is important to keep in mind that human beings are highly resilient and can persevere in spite of tragedy. Research shows that positive growth and resilience can occur following trauma.

Hostage survivors may feel lost or have difficulty managing intense reactions and may need help adjusting to their old life following release. If there are chronic indications of stress, continued feelings of numbness, disturbed sleep, as well as other signs, the hostage survivor might want to consider seeking help from a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist, who can help develop an appropriate strategy for moving forward.

To find a psychologist in your area, visit APA’s Psychologist Locator .

Thanks to psychologists Raymond Hanbury, PhD, ABPP, and David Romano, PhD, for their assistance with this article.

Bonanno, G., Papa, A., & O’Neill, K. (2001) Loss and Human Resilience. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 10, 193–206.

Speckhard, A., Tabrina, N., Krasnov, V., & Mufel, N. (2005) “Stockholm Effects and Psychological Responses to Captivity in Hostages Held by Suicidal Terrorists” in S. Wessely & V. Krasnov eds. Psychological Responses to the new Terrorism: A NATO Russia Dialogue , IOS Press. pg. 29.

Wessely, S. (2005) Victimhood and Resilience. New England Journal of Medicine, 353, 548–550.

Recent News

kidnapping , criminal offense consisting of the unlawful taking and carrying away of a person by force or fraud or the unlawful seizure and detention of a person against his will. The principal motives for kidnapping are to subject the victim to some form of involuntary servitude, to expose him to the commission of some further criminal act against his person, or to obtain ransom for his safe release. More recently, kidnapping for the purpose of extortion has become a tactic of political revolutionaries or terrorists seeking concessions from a government. In all countries it is considered a grave offense punishable by a long prison sentence or death.

In earlier times kidnapping meant carrying a person away to another country for involuntary servitude. It also referred to the practices of impressing males into military service (also known as crimping ) by fraudulent inducement or force and of shanghaiing merchant seamen in port cities.

Abducting young women and selling them for purposes of concubinage or prostitution has also been characterized as a form of kidnapping. In current statutes this is often described as abduction and ordinarily includes the taking or detention of a girl under a designated age for purposes of marriage. In some countries the alienation of a husband from his wife by another woman who entices him away is also delineated as a criminal offense within the meaning of abduction.

Modern kidnapping laws are drawn so as to proscribe the offense of taking a person with the object of extorting large amounts of ransom money or other concessions for his safe return. This became common in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. The kidnapping in 1932 of the infant son of the internationally known American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh spurred legislation imposing the death penalty for transporting a kidnapped victim across a state line.

In most countries, the offense of kidnapping includes false imprisonment. False imprisonment aggravated by the carrying of the person to some other place is considered a kidnapping, thus inviting a more severe penalty.

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Accused out on release order at time of alleged incident: Cops

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A 19-year-old Toronto man charged in an attempted kidnapping in a Vaughan Mills parking lot was out on a release order at the time of the alleged incident, police say.

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Toronto man, 19, charged in Vaughan Mills kidnapping attempt Back to video

York Regional Police were called on Aug. 23 at about noon for multiple reports of a woman being kidnapped from the parking lot of the busy shopping centre in Vaughan.

Police said the alleged victim was approached by four suspects who allegedly forced her into the rear of a vehicle.

It’s believed the suspects were armed with at least one firearm.

Cops said the vehicle was driven a short distance before the alleged victim, who sustained minor injuries, could escape.

Police also said at the time that this was a “targeted incident.”

The suspect vehicle, a blue, four-door Honda Civic with Ontario licence plate AXJN850, was reported stolen from Toronto on Aug. 20. The vehicle has since been recovered.

On Thursday, a suspect was identified and charged with help from Durham Regional Police.

Johnathon Hewston-Bharat was charged with kidnapping with a firearm, breach of court order, use of firearm or imitation firearm, possession of firearm contrary to prohibition order, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and possession of ammunition contrary to prohibition order.

The accused was out on a release order and a firearm prohibition at the time of the incident.

The three other suspects are also wanted, police said. They are described as Black males with thin builds, all wearing black, along with black medical masks and gloves.

It’s believed that several witnesses were present and filmed the incident. Officers wish to speak to anyone who may have video surveillance or dashcam footage in the area at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or visit 1800222tips.com .

DEAR ABBY: Drunk, handsy brother-in-law creates a mess within family

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A crowd of wome hold up signs and pictures

‘Bride kidnapping’ haunts rural Kyrgyzstan, causing young women to flee their homeland

Associate Professor, Utah State University

Professor, Penn State

Disclosure statement

Guangqing Chi receives funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Multistate Research Project.

Erin Hofmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Penn State provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

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There are many types of forced marriage in this world, but perhaps the most dramatic is marriage by abduction, or bride kidnapping .

Bride kidnapping is common in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. In rural Kyrgyzstan, where over 60% of the country’s population lives, surveys suggests 1 in 3 marriages begins with a kidnapping .

There, bride kidnapping is known as “ala kachuu,” which translates as “to take and run away.” It became illegal in 1994 , but the practice continues today, especially in rural areas.

And our research on labor migration in the country suggests bride kidnapping may push young women to leave their rural communities to avoid forced marriage.

What is bride kidnapping?

Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country of 6.5 million, is one of the world’s epicenters of marriage by abduction.

A typical bride kidnapping occurs in a public place. A group of young men locates the young woman that one has chosen for his wife – whom he may know, but perhaps not well – and carries her, screaming and struggling, into a waiting car.

The kidnapping victim is taken to the groom’s family home, where the women of the family attempt to talk her into consenting to the marriage. At this stage, some victims are rescued by their father or other male relatives. More often, though, having been kidnapped is so shameful that the victim or her family agrees to marriage rather than risk the stigma of being a “used” woman.

Sometimes, grooms use rape or other physical violence to coerce women to consent to marriage – though that’s not the norm.

Woman holds a drawing depicting a scared woman being taken away in a car

Many Kyrgyz people, especially those in older generations, still see bride kidnapping as a harmless tradition, according to our interviews.

“It’s a very old custom,” a 60-year-old woman told us. “Even I was married that way, and I’m happy with my family life. My husband never beat me, and everything turned out well.”

People younger than 50 are more likely to reject “ala kachuu,” our research shows, especially when the couple are complete strangers. But they also believe that bride kidnapping is a thing of the past, and that such events today are “pretend” – staged kidnappings.

Several Kyrgyz women confirmed for us that they had agreed to be kidnapped before marriage, to uphold a tradition they see as romantic.

But some kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan are clearly nonconsensual. Since 2018 at least two women, Aizada Kanatbekova and Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy , were killed by their kidnappers when they attempted to resist the marriage.

Both murders spawned protests nationally and in their hometowns , some of the largest rallies against bride kidnapping seen in Kyrgyzstan since visible public opposition began in the 1990s.

Migrating to ‘escape’

Kyrgyz women’s rights groups say the line between “pretend” and “real” kidnappings is fuzzy, because a woman can’t truly consent to a kidnapping if she knows her boyfriend can easily disregard her wishes.

The United Nations considers any kind of forced marriage to be a human rights violation . About 15.4 million people worldwide are wed without giving their free, full and informed consent, according to a 2016 International Labour Organization estimate .

A growing body of research supports the argument that “ala kachuu” is not a harmless national tradition in Kyrgyzstan.

For example, survey data from Kyrgyzstan finds that the birth weights of the first children born to mothers who married by kidnapping are significantly lower than those of other first-borns, likely because of higher stress levels among kidnapped mothers.

In Alay district, a rural region of southern Kyrgyzstan, we found that the young adult daughters of parents in a kidnapping-based marriage were 50% more likely to migrate for work, both within Kyrgyzstan and internationally. Our regression analysis controlled for other factors that could push young women to migrate, such as household size, education and wealth.

Survey questions generally cannot distinguish between “pretend” and “real” bride kidnappings, so these findings may understate the negative effects of forced marriage on infant health and migration.

Circular hut constructed of basic materials with a gorgeous mountain backdrop

Based on this research, we believe Kyrgyz women use migration to escape the possibility of being kidnapped themselves.

Why women leave Kyrgyzstan

In rural Kyrgyzstan, a young woman’s chances of avoiding a forced marriage depend largely on her parents’ willingness to intervene on her behalf after kidnapping. A girl from a family that began with a bride kidnapping can reasonably surmise that her parents are unlikely to help her.

And since Kyrgyzstan has Central Asia’s highest rates of women’s labor emigration – women make up [40% of all Kyrgyz migrants in Russia], a much higher share than those from neighboring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – migration would be a socially acceptable way to move somewhere where kidnapping is rare.

Other researchers have hypothesized that Kyrgyz women migrate at such high rates because of their Russian language proficiency and Kyrgyzstan’s less restrictive gender norms .

But bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan seems to play at least as critical a role in this trend. Living in a household headed by a kidnapping-based couple is one of the strongest predictors of women’s migration, our research found. Household size and whether the family owns land are other main factors.

No one we interviewed in Kyrgyzstan mentioned that young women migrated to avoid a forced marriage, nor have we seen this argument made by other academics or the Kyrgyz media.

However, we did find that people commonly described women’s migration in terms of “escape.”

Explaining why his daughter moved to Russia after separating from her abusive husband who married her through kidnapping, one father told us, “A new place and a new life were what she needed.”

Men’s migration, in contrast, is usually spoken of in economic terms.

Women’s migration plays an important economic role in Kyrgyzstan, and many other countries, too. But our research suggests it can be an escape route for women who don’t want to follow their mothers into a forced marriage.

[ You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter .]

Gender inequality
Forced marriage
Central Asia
Women's rights

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19-year-old charged in armed kidnapping attempt in Vaughan Mills parking lot

A 19-year-old is facing charges following an armed attempted kidnapping from the parking lot at Vaughan Mills in August.

York Regional Police said officers went to the mall at around noon on Aug. 23 after receiving multiple reports.

Police allege four suspects, one of whom was believed to be carrying a firearm, forced a woman into the backseat of a car.

Officers said the suspect vehicle drove a short distance before the woman, who sustained minor injuries, was able to get out and escape. According to police, the suspect vehicle – a reportedly stolen blue, four-door Honda Civic – has been recovered.

On Thursday, police identified a suspect in connection with the armed kidnapping.

York Regional Police have charged Jonathon Hewston-Bharat, of Toronto, with six offences, including kidnapping with a firearm. Hewston-Bharat was taken into custody with the assistance of Durham police on Thursday.

The charges have not been tested in court.

Police are still searching for three male suspects, who they describe as having a thin build and wearing all black, including medical masks and gloves.

Investigators urge witnesses or anyone with video of what happened to come forward and contact them at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

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Essay: Kidnapping The Brainchildren

A story that haunts me:

The book critic for a newspaper plagiarized an old essay of mine. Someone sent the thing to me. There on the page, under another man’s name, my words had taken up a new life — clause upon clause, whole paragraphs transplanted. My phrases ambled along dressed in the same meanings. The language gesticulated as before. It argued and whistled and waved to friends. It acted very much at home. My sentences had gone over into a parallel universe, which was another writer’s work. The words mocked me across the distance, like an ex-wife who shows up years later looking much the same but married to a gangster. The thoughts were mine, all right. But they were tricked up as another man’s inner life, a stranger’s.

Coming upon my own words, now alienated, I was amused, amazed, flattered, outraged, spooked — and in a moment, simply pained: I learned that after the article was published, the plagiarist had been found out, by someone else, not me, and had committed suicide.

I do not know what to make of his death, or of my bizarre and passive implication in it: the man died of the words that he stole from me, or he died of shame. Or something more complex; I cannot say. Maybe he killed himself for other reasons entirely. But his death has a sad phosphorescence in my mind.

Strange: we know that plagiarism may be fatal to reputation. But it is seldom so savage that it actually kills the writer. Plagiarism is usually too squalid and minor to take a part in tragedy; maybe that was the suicide’s true shame, the grubbiness. Plagiarism proclaims no majestic flaw of character but a trait, pathetic, that makes you turn aside in embarrassment. It belongs to the same rundown neighborhood as obscene phone calls or shoplifting.

That is why it is hard to make sense of the information that Martin Luther King Jr. was guilty of plagiarism a number of times in the course of his academic career. How could it be that King, with his extraordinary moral intelligence, the man who sought the transformation of the American soul at the level of its deepest wrong (race), could commit that trashy offense, not once but many times?

Character is unexpected mystery. King wrote his doctoral dissertation about the theologians Henry Nelson Wieman and Paul Tillich and plagiarized passages from an earlier student’s dissertation. Tillich, one of the great theologians of the 20th century, also had secrets, including a taste for pornography and many women not his wife.

% I believe in the Moping Dog doctrine. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about the inconsistencies of human behavior: “It seems as if heaven had sent its insane angels into our world as to an asylum, and here they will break out in their native music and utter at intervals the words they have heard in heaven; then the mad fit returns and they mope and wallow like dogs.”

Part of the mystery is that King had no need to plagiarize. He dealt himself a gratuitous wound. And what he lifted from others, or failed to attribute, tended to be pedestrian — a moping prose.

Plagiarism at least proclaims that some written words are valuable enough to steal. If the language is magnificent, the sin is comprehensible: the plagiarist could not resist. But what if the borrowed stuff is a flat, lifeless mess — the road kill of passing ideas? In that case there is less risk, but surely no joy at all. (Does the plagiarist ever feel joy?) Safer to steal the duller stones. None but the dreariest specialists will remember them or sift for them in the muck.

The Commandments warn against stealing, against bearing false witness, against coveting. Plagiarius is kidnapper in Latin. The plagiarist snatches the writer’s brainchildren, pieces of his soul. Plagiarism gives off a shabby metaphysic. Delaware’s Senator Joseph Biden, during the 1988 presidential primaries, expanded the conceptual frontier by appropriating not just the language of British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock but also of his poignant Welsh coal-mining ancestors. Biden transplanted the mythic forebears to northeastern Pennsylvania. He conjured them coming up out of the mines to play football. “They read poetry and wrote poetry and taught me how to sing verse.” A fascinating avenue: the romantic plagiarist reinvented himself and his heritage entirely. He jumped out of his own skin and evicted his ancestors from theirs as well.

Why plagiarize? Out of some clammy hope for fame, for a grade, for a forlorn fix of approbation. Out of dread of a deadline, or out of sheer neurotic compulsion. Plagiarism is a specialized mystery. Or the mystery may be writing itself. Many people cannot manage it. They borrow. Or they call up a term- paper service.

The only charming plagiarism belongs to the young. Schoolchildren shovel information out of an encyclopedia. Gradually they complicate the burglary, taking from two or three reference books instead of one. The mind (still on the wrong side of the law) then deviously begins to intermingle passages, reshuffle sentences, disguise raw chunks from the Britannica, find synonyms, reshape information until it becomes something like the student’s own. A writer, as Saul Bellow has said, “is a reader moved to emulation.” Knowledge transforms theft. An autonomous mind emerges from the sloughed skin of the plagiarist.

There is a certain symmetry of the childish in the King case. Something childish in King’s student mind was still copying out of encyclopedias, just as something immature in his sexual development had him going obsessively after women. And something childish in every mind rejects imperfection in heroes. King’s greatness came from somewhere else entirely, a deeper part of the forest. No character is flawless, and if it were flawless, that would be its flaw. Everything in nature, Emerson wrote, is cracked.

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Chicago police warn of attempted kidnapping in Jefferson Park

CHICAGO - Chicago police are warning the public after an attempted kidnapping involving a 7-year-old girl in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side.

The incident occurred on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 4 p.m. as the girl was riding her scooter on the sidewalk in the 4100 block of North Marmora Avenue.

According to police, a man driving a white van exited the vehicle and said to the girl, "I'm going to take you."

The girl immediately got off her scooter and ran northbound on Marmora Avenue. The man drove off northbound on Marmora before turning westbound onto Berteau Avenue.

The suspect is described as a white man with blue eyes. He was last seen wearing an all-black ski mask, black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. The white van he was driving had windows on the rear and sides.

Chicago police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 312-746-6554.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Kidnapping

Introduction, general overviews.

Child Kidnapping
Terrorism and Kidnapping
As a Business
Societal Impact
Secondary Economics of Kidnapping
Responses to Kidnapping
In the Media
Government Relations, Politics, and Responsibility

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

Education Programs in Prison
Juvenile Justice Professionals' Perceptions of Youth
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Kidnapping by Rob T. Guerette , Andrea Headley LAST REVIEWED: 25 February 2016 LAST MODIFIED: 25 February 2016 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0195

Kidnappings refer to the taking or abduction of an individual against his or her will, usually followed by some duration of captivity. Kidnappings can be undertaken for several reasons, but the most common are for a demand of ransom payment, as a political terrorist event, or the abduction of a child, often following a child custody dispute. Kidnapping as a behavior has been documented long throughout history and was common practice among nomadic groups, who would steal brides from neighboring tribes. Studies of kidnappings have examined the topic from a variety of perspectives, including tracing the historical development of kidnapping epidemics in specific regions of the world, identification of the various typologies of kidnappings, and efforts to understand kidnappings from the offender’s perspective. Some literature has focused solely on a specific variety of kidnapping, such as child and parental kidnapping, terrorism-based kidnappings, and so-called corporate kidnappings. Other research has looked at the impact that kidnapping has on victims, families, and society at large. In focusing on the societal impact, a considerable portion of research has explored the economic benefits of kidnappings both for offenders and for secondary economic markets. Finally, research has examined approaches to the prevention of kidnappings, as well as common responses, particularly the role of media and government in kidnapping incidents. Perhaps the biggest limitation found in existing kidnapping research is the absence of empirical studies, which stems from the difficulty in obtaining systematically collected and representative data samples. Most existing empirical studies have been devoted to identifying the most problematic kidnapping countries around the world, while a handful have begun to examine patterns and trends in an effort to further theoretical foundations within the topical area.

Several scholars have characterized the nature or historical progression of kidnapping epidemics that have occurred generally and in various parts of the world, while others have traced the development of specific varieties of kidnappings, such as political or corporate. Khan and Sajid 2010 examines the circumstance of kidnapping in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan and the limitation of existing governmental responses, while Mohamed 2008 inspects kidnapping for ransom in Southeast Asia. Ochoa 2012 highlights trends in kidnapping in Mexico City, Mexico and Wilson 1994 discusses the historical kidnappings of free blacks in the United States from 1780 to 1865. Newton 2002 gives a more general overview of kidnapping throughout history. Detotto, et al. 2014 examines duration of kidnapping events in Sardinia over time. Auerbach 1998 provides narratives that highlight the evolution and nature of ransom and politically based kidnappings. Johnson, et al. 2003 discusses the increase of corporate kidnappings in developing countries.

Auerbach, Ann H. 1998. Ransom: The untold story of international kidnapping . New York: Henry Holt.

This book employs a narrative case-study approach in combination with scientific studies to understand kidnapping worldwide. Specifically, the book looks at the growth of kidnapping for ransom and political purposes by exposing kidnapping negotiation processes.

Detotto, Claudio, Bryan C. McCannon, and Marco Vannini. 2014. Understanding ransom kidnappings and their duration. B. E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 14.3: 849–871.

This paper analyzes the determinants of the length of kidnapping incidents by assessing ransom kidnappings that have occurred in Sardinia over time. A theoretical model is developed that particularly focuses on characteristics of the crime and the victim. Available online for purchase.

Johnson, Brian R., Doug McKenzie, and Greg L. Warchol. 2003. Corporate kidnapping: An exploratory study. Journal of Security Administration 26.2: 13–31.

This study examines corporate kidnapping’s beginning and rise in developing countries while offering explanations for the increase. Additionally, this paper documents the inadequacies of reporting mechanisms, which distort official numbers for recording kidnapping incidents.

Khan, Naushad Ali, and Imran A. Sajid. 2010. Kidnapping in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) . Pakistan Journal of Criminology 2:175–187.

This study identifies reasons for kidnapping occurrences while highlighting the frequency and overarching trends in kidnapping in the North West Frontier Province. This paper also attempts to understand the deficiencies in legal responses to kidnapping in this locale.

Mohamed, Mohd K. N. 2008. Kidnap for ransom in South East Asia: The case for a regional recording standard. Asian Criminology 3.1: 61–73.

DOI: 10.1007/s11417-007-9040-1

This article advocates the need for a systematic counting method in order to understand the extent and range of kidnapping incidents. Additionally, the paper outlines some of the shortcomings of current agency statistics (e.g., variations in legal definitions, categorizing mechanisms, and counting strategies utilized). Available online for purchase.

Newton, Mike. 2002. The encyclopedia of kidnappings . New York: Checkmark.

This reference guide serves as a survey of kidnappings throughout history in order to identify kidnappers, victims, and the characteristics pertinent to the specific incident.

Ochoa, R. 2012. Not just rich: New tendencies in kidnapping in Mexico City. Global Crime 13.1: 1–21.

DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2011.632499

This paper focuses on the transformation and evolution of kidnappings in Mexico City, particularly paying attention to who is being kidnapped. The article utilizes qualitative analyses in order to provide an explanation for changes over time. Available online for purchase.

Wilson, Carol. 1994. Freedom at risk: The kidnapping of free Blacks in America, 1780–1865 . Lexington: Univ. Press of Kentucky.

The author utilizes archival records in order to highlight the depth and breadth of kidnapping free Blacks, particularly as it pertained to the reinforcement of the slave trade. Additionally, the author discusses the feelings and responses to such kidnappings by Black individuals.

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login .

Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here .

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Preventing Abductions

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News about a kidnapped child or teen can worry parents everywhere. But it's important to remember that most kids pass through childhood safely.

The Reality of Child Abductions

Here are some of the realities of child abduction:

Most kids who are reported missing have run away or there has been a misunderstanding with their parents about where they were supposed to be.
Of the kids and teens who are truly abducted, most are taken by a family member or an acquaintance; 25% of kids are taken by strangers.
Almost all kids kidnapped by strangers are taken by men, and about two thirds of stranger abductions involve female children.
Most abducted kids are in their teens.
Kids are rarely abducted from school grounds.

Ways to Prevent Abductions

About 2,100 missing-children reports are filed each day in the U.S. Many cases can be solved more easily when parents can provide key information about their kids, like: height, weight, eye color, and a clear recent photo.

It's also wise to:

Make sure custody documents are in order.
Have ID-like photos taken of your kids every 6 months and have them fingerprinted. Many local police departments sponsor fingerprinting programs.
Keep your kids' medical and dental records up to date.
Make online safety a priority. The Internet is a great tool, but it's also a place for predators to stalk kids. Be aware of your kids' Internet activities and chat room "friends," and remind them never to give out personal information. Avoid posting identifying information or photos of your kids online.
Set boundaries about the places your kids go. Supervise them in places like malls, movie theaters, parks, public bathrooms, or while fundraising door to door.
Never leave kids alone in a car or stroller, even for a minute.
Choose caregivers — babysitters , childcare providers, and nannies — carefully and check their references. If you've arranged for someone to pick up your kids from school or daycare, discuss the arrangements beforehand with your kids and with the school or childcare center.
Avoid dressing your kids in clothing with their names on it — children tend to trust adults who know their names.

Talking to Kids About Strangers

One of the challenges of being a parent is teaching your kids to be cautious without filling them with fear or anxiety. Talk to your kids often about safety, and give them the basics on how to avoid and escape potentially dangerous situations.

Teach them to:

Never accept candy or gifts from a stranger.
Never go anywhere with a stranger, even if it sounds like fun. Predators can lure kids with questions like "Can you help me find my lost puppy?" or "Do you want to see some cute kittens in my car?" Remind your kids that adults they don't know should never ask them to help or to do things for them.
Run away and scream if someone follows them or tries to force them into a car.
Say no to anyone who tries to make them do something you've said is wrong or touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Always tell you or another trusted adult if a stranger asks personal questions, exposes himself or herself, or otherwise makes them feel uneasy. Reassure kids that it's OK to tell you even if the person made them promise not to or threatened them in some way.
Always ask permission from a parent to leave the house, yard, or play area or to go into someone's home.

Keep these other tips in mind:

Make sure younger kids know their names, address, phone number including area code, and who to call in case of an emergency. Review how to use 911 or a local emergency number. Discuss what to do if they get lost in a public place or store — most places have emergency procedures for handling lost kids. Remind them that they should never go to the parking lot to look for you. Instruct kids to ask a cashier for help or stand near the registers or front of the building away from the doors.
Point out the homes of friends around the neighborhood where your kids can go in case of trouble.
Be sure your kids know whose cars they may ride in and whose they may not. Teach them to move away from any car that pulls up beside them and is driven by a stranger, even if that person looks lost or confused. Develop code words for caregivers other than mom or dad, and remind your kids never to tell anyone the code word. Teach them not to ride with anyone they don't know or with anyone who doesn't know the code word.
If your kids are old enough to stay home alone , make sure they keep the door locked and never tell anyone who knocks or calls they are home alone.

If Your Child Is Abducted

The first few hours are the most critical in missing-child cases. So it's important to contact your local police and give them information about your child right away.

They'll ask you for a recent picture of your child, what your child was wearing, and details about when and where you last saw your child.

You can ask that your child's case be entered into the National Crime and Information Center (NCIC) . Other clearinghouses such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ([800] 843-5678) can offer information and support during your search.

After notifying the authorities, try to stay calm. You'll be able to remember details about your child's disappearance more easily if you do.

News of a Kidnapping

by Gabriel García Márquez

Critical Overview

News of a Kidnapping —like any new work by García Márquez—received a great deal of attention when it was first published in Spanish in 1996, and the following year, in English. A welter of reviewers focused their attention on the myriad aspects of the book: its style, the events it depicted, the state of affairs in Colombia, the drug wars. While this book was a marked departure from the magical realism that characterizes García Márquez's fiction, few reviewers found this to be cause for complaint. The dramatic events that García Márquez has to work with easily provided what John Bemrose called in Maclean's , "thriller-like momentum." Indeed, as Michiko Kakutani pointed out in The Houston Chronicle , García Márquez "uses his novelist's instinct for emotional drama to give the reader a wonderfully immediate sense of his subjects' ordeal: their spiraling hopes and fears, their fantasies of escape, their desperation and despair." She was not alone in comparing this book to García Márquez's "most powerful fiction." R. Z. Sheppard's commentary in Time that News of a Kidnapping "brings together the world's two best-known Colombians, symbolically locked in a struggle for their nation's soul"—García Márquez and Pablo Escobar—illustrates the inherent narrative power of this non-fiction story.

García Márquez started out his career as a journalist, winning important prizes in that field, and reviewers noted that his skill had not lapsed. Wrote Sheppard, "One can almost hear García Márquez asking, Who? What? Where? When? and Why? on every minutely detailed page." Page also pointed out that the "terse" style of the book "reflects a conscious choice to let the hostages tell their own stories without impressing upon them the stamp of García Márquez's imagination.''

Reviewers, however, also noted that the fantastic elements of the crime, and the drug wars in general, brought the book closer to García Márquez's magical realism. Colombia presents a world hardly imaginable for most American readers, a world where law enforcement officers, Congressional representatives, and journalists are gunned down at the will of criminals. As Robert Stone challenged readers of the New York Times Book Review , "[L]et us imagine that we have a President who carries five bullets in his body as the result of an assassination attempt by drug traffickers. Let us imagine that Lady Bird Johnson and Amy Carter have both spent time in the hands of kidnappers." As Kakutani pointed out, books like News of a Kidnapping remind the reader that the "magical realism employed by García Márquez and other Latin American novelists is in part a narrative strategy for grappling with a social reality so hallucinatory, so irrational, that it defies ordinary naturalistic description."

Cite this page as follows:

"News of a Kidnapping - Critical Overview." Nonfiction Classics for Students, Vol. 3. Gale Cengage, 7 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/news-kidnapping/critical-essays#critical-essays-critical-overview>

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Essays and Criticism

Attempted armed kidnapping of teen in Fort Lauderdale possibly connected to case in Pompano Beach: Police

The fort lauderdale driver was traveling in a gray four door sedan, possibly a nissan, with dark tints and a missing front passenger side hub cap., by niko clemmons • published august 31, 2024 • updated on august 31, 2024 at 11:16 pm.

Fort Lauderdale Police are searching for a man they say tried to kidnap a teenager who was walking to school at gunpoint. Detectives believe this attempted armed kidnapping is possibly related to another one in Pompano Beach.

In Fort Lauderdale, a 17-year-old girl was walking to school Thursday morning near Stranahan High, when a man in a gray sedan drove up to her and tried to get her into his car at gunpoint, according to police.

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Detectives said the girl told the man repeatedly that she had to go to school, before he drove away.

Asia Parker lives in the neighborhood and is worried.

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“Concerned, disturbing,” Parker said. “It's concerning, parents shouldn't have to worry about it, kids shouldn't have to worry about it. It's a lot of predators out here and got to be careful.”

Over in Pompano Beach, there’s a similar investigation.

Detectives with the Broward Sheriff's Office said earlier that same morning, a man in a gray sedan stopped a 15-year-old girl walking to school near the 200 block of Northwest 12th Court and told her to get in his car.

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The girl told investigators she said no and kept walking. Detectives said the man pulled up next to girl again, pointed a gun at her and demanded she get in the car. The girl ran and the man drove the other way.

Detectives are trying to see if there's a connection between both attempted kidnappings. They're also trying to figure out if these are the same men.

People in both communities now have their eyes wide open.

“Hopefully police find this person soon and get the situation under control,” Parker said.

In Fort Lauderdale, the suspect is described as a light skinned, Black or Hispanic, male between the ages of 20 to 25, with short curly hair, police stated. The suspect was driving a gray four door sedan, possibly a Nissan, with dark tints and a missing front passenger side hub cap.

Detectives are asking for anyone with information about this incident or who may recognize the suspect in the sketch to contact Detective Erica Payne at 954-828-6487. Information can additionally be provided anonymously by contacting Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493- TIPS (8477).

In Pompano Beach, investigators described the subject as an adult male, between 20 and 35 years of age. At the time of the incident, the subject had facial hair and was wearing a white tank top and black gym shorts. The subject was driving a gray-colored sedan.

Anyone with information on the subject's identity or the vehicle's location is asked to submit a tip through the SaferWatch app. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org, or dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States.

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Police arrest 19-year-old in Vaughan Mills attempted kidnapping

Video still showing four suspects attempting to kidnap a woman from Vaughan Mills parking lot

By John Marchesan

Posted September 6, 2024 2:08 pm.

Last Updated September 6, 2024 2:19 pm.

Police have made one arrest in a brazen attempted kidnapping in the parking lot of Vaughan Mills two weeks ago.

York Region police say around noon on August 23 four individuals in black hoodies, one of whom was armed with a gun, approached a woman and forced her into the back of a blue four-door Honda Civic, which had been reported stolen three days ago in Toronto. After driving a short distance the woman managed to escape, suffering only minor physical injuries.

Investigators managed to identify one of the suspects and with the help of Durham Regional Police arrested a 19-year-old on Sept. 5 in connection with the incident.

Jonathan Hewston-Bharat of Toronto is facing six charges including kidnapping with a firearm.

Police say at the time of the incident Hewston-Bharat was out on bail and prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Police say they continue to look for three other suspects described as male, Black with a thin build last seen wearing all black, black medical masks and gloves.

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kidnapping, criminal offense consisting of the unlawful taking and carrying away of a person by force or fraud or the unlawful seizure and detention of a person against his will. The principal motives for kidnapping are to subject the victim to some form of involuntary servitude, to expose him to the commission of some further criminal act against his person, or to obtain ransom for his safe ...
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Kidnapping Essay. An estimated amount of 2,300 children are missing everyday in the United States. (NISMART) Castro committed many crimes from kidnapping, rape, sexual assault, and attempted murder. Kidnapping happens when someone is abducted without the authority of a legal guardian with the plan of keeping, killing, or asking for ransom for ...
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Ochoa 2012 highlights trends in kidnapping in Mexico City, Mexico and Wilson 1994 discusses the historical kidnappings of free blacks in the United States from 1780 to 1865. Newton 2002 gives a more general overview of kidnapping throughout history. Detotto, et al. 2014 examines duration of kidnapping events in Sardinia over time.
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