NEWSWORTHY
The U.S. Department of State has removed Japan from its list of countries said to be showing a pattern of noncompliance with the so-called Hague Convention on cross-border parental child abduction. In an annual report released last week, the department noted Japan's legislative efforts to ...
French commandos die freeing French and unexpected U.S., Korean hostages in Burkina Faso
French commandos rescued four foreign hostages, including two French citizens, from a militant group in Burkina Faso, France's military said Friday, adding that two of the elite soldiers were killed in the night-time operation. French special forces carried out the raid under cover of dark ...
A young man's claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared under tragic circumstances eight years ago was disproved by DNA tests, the FBI said Thursday, dashing hopes that the baffling case had finally been solved. For a day and a half, a breakthrough seemed ...
American kidnapped on Ugandan safari, with $500,000 ransom demanded
An American woman and her driver have been kidnapped at Uganda's most popular wildlife park by gunmen demanding a ransom of $500,000, police said on Wednesday. Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, and Ugandan driver Jean Paul were on a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park ...
Wisconsin kidnapping suspect targeted girl after seeing her get on bus, police say
A Wisconsin man accused of abducting 13-year-old Jayme Closs and holding her captive for three months made up his mind to take her when he spotted the teenager getting on a school bus near her home, authorities said Monday. Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, told detectives ...
Former kidnap victims say Wisconsin girl Jayme Closs needs space, time to heal
Katie Beers' joy quickly turned to deep concern when she learned 13-year-old Jayme Closs had been found alive in rural Wisconsin nearly three months after police say a man shot and killed her parents and then abducted the girl from their home. "She is going ...
Norwegian millionaire's wife likely abducted, ransom demanded: police
The wife of a Norwegian multimillionaire missing for 10 weeks has probably been kidnapped and a ransom has been demanded for her release, police said Wednesday. Married to a real estate and energy magnate, Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen, 68, disappeared on October 31, police said. "A ransom ...
Argentine woman rescued in Bolivia 32 years after kidnapping at age 13 by human traffickers
An Argentine woman kidnapped 32 years ago as a teenager has been found alive and well in Bolivia following a joint investigation between the two countries, Argentine police said Wednesday. Now 45, the woman was the victim of human trafficking at just 13 years old, ...
Authorities tentatively ID body as that of kidnapped North Carolina girl
A body found in North Carolina has been preliminarily identified as a 13-year-old girl kidnapped outside her home, investigators said Wednesday, bringing a sad conclusion to a three-week search involving hundreds of investigators. Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill told reporters at a news conference that ...
Japan's news outlets weigh in on Jumpei Yasuda's culpability in Syria kidnapping
Freelance reporter Jumpei Yasuda gave a three-hour news conference at the Japan National Press Club on Nov. 2 about his hostage ordeal, describing in detail how he was kidnapped after entering Syria in 2015 and then held for more than three years. He also ...
Gunmen kidnap 79 pupils, mainly boys, in troubled English-speaking Cameroon region
Gunmen kidnapped 79 school students on Monday in an English-speaking region of Cameroon where separatists are fighting an armed campaign for independence, security and government sources said. The abductions, the worst incident so far in 13 months of unrest, came just a day before longtime ...
Canadian held captive in Syria says Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda doesn't deserve criticism
The reporter, who returned to Japan late last month after 40 months of captivity, has been slammed by some for putting himself in harm’s way.
