This is a list of kidnappings.
Modern kidnappings of celebrities' relatives
Among a recent series of crimes, there has been one crime whose incidence has risen sharply lately. That area is the kidnapping of famous people's relatives. This is because the criminals believe that celebrities have a lot of money to spend in order to ransom their loved ones.
Among the most famous of modern kidnappings of celebrities' relatives was that of Charles Lindbergh's son in the 1930s; he was later found dead.
Among the famous people and their relatives affected by these crimes:
- Beatriz Adriana. The Mexican actress's son was kidnapped and found dead in Tijuana. While rumors abounded that her son's death was due to a drug debt, no evidence of that was ever found.
- Julio Iglesias's father was kidnapped in 1985. Found well and alive.
- Julio Cesar Chavez received threatening calls, saying his sons would be kidnapped.
- Jorge Campos (soccer player). His father was kidnapped and later found alive in Acapulco, Mexico.
- Adolph Coors III, heir to the Coors beer fortune. He was found dead.
- Alejandro Fernandez his brother was kidnapped (see Vicente Fernandez).
- Vicente Fernandez. The famous Mexican singer's son, Vicente Fernandez Jr, was kidnapped and later released alive.
- John Paul Getty III, kidnapped in Italy in 1973. His grandfather, the then world?s richest man, American multi-billionaire oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty, refused to pay his $3 million ransom until one of the boy's ears was cut off and sent to a newspaper.
- Charles Lindbergh. The aviator's two-year old son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped in 1932, and was killed.
- William Randolph Hearst. His granddaughter Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the SLA in 1974. Her father gave $6 million in food to the poor of the Bay Area as ransom, but she was not released. She became part of her captor's group and was later convicted on bank robbery charges.
- Thalia. The Mexican Diva's sister, the also famous actress Laura Zapata and another unidentified sister, were kidnapped. They were both released alive.
- Laura Zapata (See Thalia).
- Nikoloz Tskitishvili. The basketball player, a star in his home country (Georgia), had strangers call to his house and threaten to kidnap his brother and mother after it became known he signed a million-dollar contract with the NBA's Denver Nuggets. As a consequence, he moved all his family to Denver.
- Johnny Tapia The world boxing champion saw his mother raped and kidnapped when he was 8 years old. He was hiding when he saw that. His mother's body was found on a road days later.
- Alejandra Guzman The Mexican singing diva has received several calls threatening to kidnap her ten year old daughter, because of which she has hired extra security. She always takes her daughter with her on the road.
- Jorge and Juan Born, (1974), scions of the Bunge y Born business were kidnapped in September by the Montoneros and only released after the payment of a $60 million ransom.
- Yuri She was going to be kidnapped, but the plans folded when one of the would be kidnappers left the criminal band that would have committed the act, and told her cousin about the plans.
- Cesar Rosas the wife of the member of Los Lobos was kidnapped on October 23, 1999, and never found again. Gabriel Gomez was accused and sentenced for her kidnapping and murder.
- Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, son of the Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka shing; kidnapped by Cheung Tze-keung, AKA "Big Spender". He was released after the world record payment of a US$134 million ransom in cash. Cheung was later captured and executed in mainland China in 2000.
- Frank Sinatra's son was kidnapped, released after ransom was paid.
- Veruska Ramirez, former Miss Venezuela, kidnapped and released three hours later, after signing 15 autographs for her captors.
- Susana Gimenez, the Argentine diva's boyfriend's father was kidnapped on January 8, 2004.
Also of notice is that Dominican actor Andres Garcia announced he doubled his security guard numbers, afraid he and his family could get kidnapped too. On the same line, Manny Pacquiao, world boxing champion at the Flyweight, Jr. Featherweight and Featherweight divisions, has had to hire six security guards who constantly surround him and his family in his home country of the Philippines, after receiving kidnap threatening calls from several groups.
This crime is flourishing in poor countries, where the economic situation can drive people to desperate measures.
Faked kidnappings
- Author Agatha Christie, whose disappearance in 1926 was feared to be a kidnapping. When she re-appeared with no explanation, a real-life mystery began which remains to this day.
- Jules Croiset; Dutch Jewish actor faked being kidnapped by neo-nazis.
- Aimee Semple McPherson: evangelist who maintained she was kidnapped while all evidence pointed to the contrary
Assumed kidnap conspiracies that turned out to be fake
Other kidnappings
- Joseph Bonanno, (1964). The crime family leader was kidnapped by his own enforcer, along with his lawyer. Forced to make economic and retirement agreements with other mafia bosses, he and his lawyer were let go alive.
- Walter Palmers, (1977), Austrian industrialist.
- Aldo Moro, (1978), former Italian Prime Minister.
- Enrique Camarena, (1985), Mexican DEA official, found dead.
- Gerrit Jan Heijn, (1987), Dutch top executive of Ahold, brother of Albert Heijn; kidnapped and killed in 1987 by Ferry E.; after that Ferry E. pretended that his victim was still alive and asked and received ransom; he was caught after spending one of the banknotes of the ransom, of which the numbers had been recorded; he served a prison sentence and is free now; it was frowned upon that after his release he received over 300,000 euro back-payment of disability benefits for the time he was in prison (rules have changed now, this would no longer be possible).
- Ingrid Betancourt, (2002), Colombian presidency candidate, by the FARC movement.
Suspected kidnappings
