The children of a British businessman have appealed for his safe return after he and his Colombian wife were kidnapped from their ranch in Ecuador by around 15 men on Saturday.
“This is a critical moment. We were told not to tell anyone. But we just want our father back,” his daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns told Web on Monday on behalf of herself and her brother, according to The Independent.
Very early on Saturday, businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, who was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the monarchy, was reportedly kidnapped from his ranch in the town of Baba in Ecuador's Los Rios province, according to local media reports.
According to the British newspaper, his wife, of Colombian origin, was also forcibly dragged by about fifteen people.
🚨Former British honorary consul in Guayaquil and businessman Colin Armstrong was kidnapped along with his Colombian partner by masked men at his home in the Ecuadorian province of Los Rios.
We urge the governments of Ecuador, the United Kingdom and Colombia to expedite the investigation and demand their release… pic.twitter.com/5P32EJ2QOT— Hostage Aid Worldwide (@HostageAid) December 18, 2023
The seventy-year-old millionaire and founder of an agricultural products company in Ecuador had also received the title of Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, awarded to those who have made significant contributions at the international level.
For its part, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that it was in contact with the family of a man kidnapped in Ecuador, without revealing his identity or the location of the abduction.
Kidnappings for ransom linked to organized crime are becoming increasingly common in Ecuador, The Independent reported.
In a press release, Ecuadorian police said they had set up an “operational and research mission” in the sector following an “alleged crime against a businessman,” the British media concluded.