Kidnapping and Hostages

Man Charged in Kidnapping of Bloomberg’s Housekeeper From Colorado Ranch

An armed man broke into the Colorado ranch of the former Democratic presidential candidate Michael R. Bloomberg and kidnapped a housekeeper, asking her for the whereabouts of Mr. Bloomberg’s two adult daughters, the authorities said in court documents filed this week. The man, Joseph Beecher, 48, faces state and federal charges including kidnapping after he […]

Boys Held as Hostages by ISIS Worry Rights Activists

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The boys in the prison sleep in groups of about 15 in cells with no windows, according to aid workers. They get fresh air and see the sun during visits to a walled-in yard, but receive no visitors. They range in age from as young as 10 up to 18 and have […]

A Tense Texas Standoff Leads to Emotional Phone Call Between Brothers

BLACKBURN, England — The conversation was urgent and emotional as Gulbar Akram huddled with police in Manchester, England, on Saturday and spoke with his brother, who was holding four people hostage at a synagogue almost 5,000 miles away in Texas. He urged his brother, Malik Faisal Akram, to release the hostages and turn himself in, […]

Haiti Missionaries Describe Dramatic Escape From Kidnappers

The organization said that an unspecified ransom had been provided but did not describe the money as leading directly to the hostages’ freedom. Instead David N. Troyer, general director of Christian Aid Ministries, said that “after many days of waiting and no action on the part of the kidnappers, God worked in a miraculous way […]

12 Remaining Members of a U.S. Group Kidnapped in Haiti Have Been Released

“There are so many Haitians terrorized by kidnappings and extreme levels of violence,” Representative Andy Levin, Democrat of Michigan, a co-chairman of the Haiti Caucus in the House, said in a statement on Thursday. He added that the United States and its partners must work to restore democracy “that can bring peace and security to […]

Eitan Biran Returns to Italy From Israel in Custody Dispute

ROME — Nearly three months after he was spirited by his grandfather to Israel, setting off an international custody battle, a 6-year-old boy who was the sole survivor of an Italian cable car crash returned to Italy on Friday. The boy, Eitan Biran, survived a tragic cable car crash in May that killed 14 people […]