'KIDNAPPING' BAFFLES POLICE INTERNATIONAL MANHUNT IS IN PROGRESS FOR MISSING SANTA PAULA RESIDENT.Byline: Phillip W. Browne Staff Writer A missing Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. man suffering from epilepsy was the focus of an international search Wednesday after he was reportedly kidnapped from a Tijuana nightclub, then held for ransom by a Mexican extortion extortion, in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of those allowed to him by statute or arresting a person and, with and identity theft ring. Nazario Castanon, 34, hasn't been seen since March 6, when he and his brother Luis became separated at Miami Bar in Tijuana during a weekend getaway. Castanon's family soon began receiving ransom demands from a group that claimed to be holding him near San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . A team composed of Santa Paula and Mexican police and the FBI have launched an investigation which has led to five arrests. Authorities say they believe the ring is more involved in extortion than kidnapping kidnapping, in law, the taking away of a person by force, threat, or deceit, with intent to cause him to be detained against his will. Kidnapping may be done for ransom or for political or other purposes. , demanding money from American families for the safe return of their relatives in Mexico even though the ``victim'' was never really abducted abducted Distal angulation of an extremity away from the midline of the body in a transverse plane and away from a sagittal plane passing through the proximal aspect of the foot or part, or away from some other specified reference point . ``That's what makes this case so strange - where is Nazario?'' said Santa Paula Police Detective Michelle Velasco. ``From what we have discovered, they are more scam (SCSI Configured AutoMatically) A subset of Plug and Play that allows SCSI IDs to be changed by software rather than by flipping switches or changing jumpers. Both the SCSI host adapter and peripheral must support SCAM. See SCSI. artists than kidnappers. But they had detailed information about Nazario's medical condition and his life that led us to believe they either kidnapped him or had some contact with him.'' FBI officials are pursuing several theories. ``He could have had some contact with the suspects and is lost,'' said Randy Aden, supervisory special agent with the FBI's Ventura field office. ``He may have been abducted. He may have been abducted for a short time and abandoned. We just don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . ``This is a fairly extensive scam. Several people across the country have received ransom demands from this group.'' Following Castanon's disappearance, authorities monitored several phone calls between his family and the captors, but they were unable to talk to Castanon or confirm he was alive. His family decided to pay the ransom, which was picked up by a courier in San Ysidro. The man who picked up the cash, Abel Rubio Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , 38, was arrested March 17 on suspicion of extortion, Velasco said. Since then, Mexican authorities have arrested four more people connected to the ring, Aden said. Their names were not immediately available. So far, the FBI has documented at least five cases in which the same group has demanded ransom money from families in Ventura County, San Diego and Nevada. They believe there may be more victims who may be afraid to come forward. ``We would very much like to talk to anyone who may have been victimized,'' Aden said. Anyone with information about the case, or who knows the whereabouts of Castanon, is asked to call Detective Velasco at the Santa Paula Police Department, (805) 933-4239; or Special Agent Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly may refer to:
Phillip W. Browne, (818) 713-3707 phillip.browne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Nazario Castanon Focus of search |
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