Wow!

Geesh!

That is just crazy ! Prayers for his safe return.

This has happened before in Central and/or South America, hasn't it?

Scary places.

Praying for Ramos' safe release. He was with the Twins during Spring Training 2010. What a sad and scary thing to have this happen in his home country!

Julie

Wow is right.

Scary. Hope he is ok.

Before I clicked on the story I thought, "He's from Venezuela." My girlfriend is from Venezuala. She will not go back and visit relatives. She said it's a very dangerous place. Anyone perceived to have money is under great danger of kidnap. The hostage tends to end up dead even when the ransom is paid.

Bobby Abreau (Phillies, Yankees, Angels) lives in Venezuala. He and his family travel with bodyguards. He has a property like a fortress. He has armed guards on site 24/7.

I used to travel on business in places where kidnapping was a risk (Mexico, Central and South America). My employer put me through "kidnapping training". Rule #1, don't rely on the local police, they may be in on it. Instead, the company had a consultant who specialized in dealing with kidnappers. My husband had the contact information for the company's security group should he get a call from me that I had been kidnapped. It was very eye opening to go through that training. Glad I never had to use the training.

The best thing that can be said is that in most of the situations it is a financial transaction. Let's hope that is all that it is here, and he is freed soon.

The number of kidnappings has soared in recent years. In 1998, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Last year, police said there were 618 kidnappings reported in 2009.

Cedeno’s organization cites other figures showing there were 895 abductions reported in 2010. He and other security experts say the real number of cases is actually much higher because many abductions are never reported to authorities.

Relatives of several Venezuelan major leaguers have previously been kidnapped, and in two cases have been killed.

In 2009, the mother of former major league pitcher Victor Zambrano was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after she was abducted. A cousin of Zambrano had been kidnapped a few days earlier, and was later killed.

Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s(notes) 11-year-old son and brother-in-law were kidnapped in 2009 and released a day later.

A brother of Venezuelan catcher Henry Blanco(notes), who now plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, was kidnapped and killed in 2008.

The mother of two-time All-Star pitcher Ugueth Urbina spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.

- Yahoo Sports

Thank goodness this story has a happy ending. Wilson Ramos is safe. I wonder how long he and his family will stay in Venezuela.