Latest Kidnapping News

At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as peace talks fail, official says

Jan. 20, 2025 07:35 AM EST

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government's failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said. Twenty others were injured in the violence that has...

Who are the Israelis released on the first day of the ceasefire?

Jan. 19, 2025 23:32 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Three hostages held by Hamas were released Sunday after 471 days in captivity as part of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. A gradual release of dozens of captives over the next several weeks has been agreed on. The truce and release of...

Oregon man who kidnapped a Seattle woman and kept her in a makeshift cell gets life sentence

Jan. 18, 2025 18:27 PM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has been sentenced to life in federal prison after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women in separate instances, including locking one in a cinder block cell. Negasi Zuberi, 31, was sentenced Friday in federal court in...

Retired Georgia minister is found not guilty in the 1975 killing of a girl in Pennsylvania

Jan. 17, 2025 18:21 PM EST

MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — A retired minister from Georgia was found not guilty Friday in the killing of an 8-year-old girl whose remains were found in a southeastern Pennsylvania park almost a half-century ago. A jury acquitted David Zandstra, 84, of the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, after...

Spain says a citizen has been kidnapped in northern Africa

Jan. 17, 2025 05:32 AM EST

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s foreign ministry says that a Spanish man has been kidnapped in an unspecified northern African country, while Spanish media report that the man is being held by a jihadist group. Spanish state news agency EFE and newspaper El País both report that the man...

College students appear in court in case stemming from ‘Catch a Predator’ fad on TikTok

Jan. 16, 2025 18:24 PM EST

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Five Massachusetts college students appeared in court Thursday, accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok. The Assumption University students, all...

Nigerian army says it killed 76 extremists during a weeklong operation in Borno State

Jan. 16, 2025 14:10 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian troops killed 76 Islamic militants in the country's northeast during operations conducted in various parts of Borno state, the military said Thursday. The operations took place between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, Nigerian army spokesperson Edward Buba said...

Colorado apartment complex where armed gang members were seen on video will be closed

Jan. 13, 2025 21:15 PM EST

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado apartment complex where armed members of a Venezuelan gang were caught on video entering a unit last summer is expected to close in about a month under an emergency court order, city officials said Monday. The city of Aurora had pursued a lawsuit to...

An Austrian woman has been kidnapped in Niger's Agadez city, authorities say

Jan. 12, 2025 15:48 PM EST

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — An Austrian woman has been kidnapped by gunmen in Niger's Agadez city, local residents and the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, the first time a European citizen is known to have been kidnapped in the conflict-hit West African nation since a military junta took power...

Man pleads guilty in failed ransom plot that may have been linked to $240M crypto heist

Jan. 09, 2025 15:36 PM EST

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with the carjacking and kidnapping of a Connecticut couple, in what authorities called a failed ransom plot that may have been linked to a $240 million cryptocurrency heist. Michael Rivas, 19, of Miami, was...