Man intimidated and abandoned in Quito: Police recover stolen vehicle in Puembo
A social media alert about a suspected kidnapping in Guambí led to a police operation. The victim was located in Cerro Puntas and the car was recovered in Guayllabamba.
Kidnapping alert in Quito ends in recovery of stolen vehicle
A social media post alerting to the presumed kidnapping of an elderly adult in the Guambí sector, along the old road to Tababela, sparked citizen concern this Friday. According to the National Police's report to metroecuador.com.ec, the case actually corresponded to the theft of a vehicle in Puembo, in the north-east of Quito, in which the driver was intimidated and subsequently abandoned.
The police procedure was activated following an alert from ECU 911 regarding the vehicle theft. The driver was located in the Cerro Puntas sector, whilst the vehicle was recovered in Guayllabamba.
The original report was circulated by a witness who claimed to have seen several individuals taking away an elderly adult in a golden-coloured vehicle. According to that post, two men dressed in black would have boarded the vehicle in the Guambí sector. The witness indicated that he attempted to pursue the suspects, but they managed to escape, and requested help to identify the owner and locate the driver.
The National Police confirmed to Metro Ecuador that the man returned to his home. "The man is now at his home, they were unable to carry out the kidnapping and the vehicle was also recovered," the institution stated in an initial report.
In a subsequent statement, the Police clarified that the victim would have been intimidated by several individuals during the journey and then abandoned, before the vehicle was taken to Guayllabamba.
Although the initial alert referred to a possible kidnapping, the official report describes the incident as a vehicle theft with intimidation of the driver. The institution highlighted the recovery of the vehicle as a result of the operation.
Source: Google News EC — Crime