Ecuador - August Reiger, 18, US student, Banos, 16 June 2013

[lillygator]

if someone kidnapped him, they would have to have been scouting him out....I mean, you don't just go sit on a mountain and wait for a random hiker to kidnap.

 

[necco]

if someone kidnapped him, they would have to have been scouting him out....I mean, you don't just go sit on a mountain and wait for a random hiker to kidnap.

Actually, depending on who does the kidnapping, sometimes they do. Or they just kidnap someone they come across. (Thinking of groups like FARC or ELN)

 

[cluciano63]

They would have heard from kidnappers by now. It is all about the money.

 

[margarita25]

Have they deployed helicopters with thermal vision?

 

[lucky181]

Hope I can quote from a news agency's fb. Good news if it's true.

** BREAKING ** KOCO's Dan Thomas reports the family of August Reiger has been told that the metro teen, missing in Ecuador, has been spotted in a truck headed for the Amazon. They have been told by an Ecuadorian official that it's a credible sighting.

https://www.facebook.com/koco5?hc_location=stream

Straight from the family today after meeting with Ecuadorian officials, police say Reiger has been seen inside a pick-up truck headed towards the Amazon region. Warnings have been issued in provinces spanning the entire country.
President Obama has kicked the search into high gear and the family will continue to have meeting with government officials in Ecuador, including Interior Minister Jose Serrano.

http://kfor.com/2013/06/24/missing-oklahoma-student-has-been-sighted-in-ecuador/

 

[necco]

It does make some sense that they may have taken him to a safe house and now are moving him into territory more in their control. If there's a large organization behind the kidnapping, he may be transferred several times before the ransom demand is made.

If they haven't yet harmed him, I suspect the authorities will go about this very gingerly, as sometimes kidnap victims end up dying in recovery attempts or interactions with the army. (Such as the 3 missionaries kidnapped in Panama in 1993)

 

[cluciano63]

I would think he would be well-hidden, if he had in fact been kidnapped. Not exposed to sight in a pick-up truck.

 

[Elainera]

I wonder how reliable the "credible sighting" is? Will they stop searching for him on the moountain now?

 

[margarita25]

I wonder how reliable the "credible sighting" is? Will they stop searching for him on the moountain now?

Great questions!

The latest news sounds like something from a movie! Oh my goodness!

 

[necco]

I would think it has to be pretty credible. Ecuador wouldn't be announcing that a kid was kidnapped if they weren't pretty darn sure of it. It's bad for tourism. A tourist falling and getting killed hiking wouldn't really affect tourism. A tourist being kidnapped off a tourist hiking trail in broad daylight would definitely make people think twice about going to Ecuador.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

please forgive me if this is dense... the article does not actually say "kidnapped" - just that he was spotted, and the family used the word. I mean, what other explanation would there be? does the press purposely not say "kidnapped"? is there any chance he hooked up with people to take him to the Amazon, where he thought his parents might be?

 

[lucky181]

Another tweet from CNN reporter. Where is he getting this information? Seen last Wed? Today is Monday. Confusing. Is his family talking to this reporter personally?

Nick Valencia ‏@CNNValencia 8h
Family of missing #OKC teen & valedictorian August Reiger says he was possibly sighted on Wednesday in Ecuador. . victim of criminal act.

https://twitter.com/CNNValencia

 

[lucky181]

PiThis video gives new information.

Spotted last Wed headed for the jungles....somewhere toward Pastaza. (why did it take so long to tell the family or did the source just come forward)
Source of sighting not given but is credible.
Family seems to believe 100% that he is alive.
Don't know if he went willingly or is captive.
Local officials are ruling out kidnapping because no ransom demand but have started a criminal investigation. (if held captive, doesn't that mean kidnapped?)
Cameras are going up in Banos (kinda late IMO)


http://www.koco.com/Missing-Teen-Spotted-in-Ecuador/-/9844716/20701452/-/10bsph3/-/index.html

 

[Tonto]

And the plot thickens.

Ecuador also happens to be the place where we believe that Snowden (NSA leaker) is heading. If he does, I wonder what, if any, diplomatic hurdles we may run into with regard to August's case?

 

[Money Girl]

This video gives new information.

Spotted last Wed headed for the jungles....somewhere toward Pastaza. (why did it take so long to tell the family or did the source just come forward)
Source of sighting not given but is credible.
Family seems to believe 100% that he is alive.
Don't know if he went willingly or is captive.
Local officials are ruling out kidnapping because no ransom demand but have started a criminal investigation. (if held captive, doesn't take mean kidnapped?)
Cameras are going up in Banos (kinda late IMO)


http://www.koco.com/Missing-Teen-Spotted-in-Ecuador/-/9844716/20701452/-/10bsph3/-/index.html

I pray that this is true, and August can return to his family.

 

[lucky181]

And the plot thickens.

Ecuador also happens to be the place where we believe that Snowden (NSA leaker) is heading. If he does, I wonder what, if any, diplomatic hurdles we may run into with regard to August's case?

Has any president declared someone a missing patriot before? Seems like an odd choice of words.

 

[necco]

And the plot thickens.

Ecuador also happens to be the place where we believe that Snowden (NSA leaker) is heading. If he does, I wonder what, if any, diplomatic hurdles we may run into with regard to August's case?

My guess is that the Snowden thing will actually HELP the diplomacy involved in August's case. In order to make it seem like they're purely in the Snowden thing for principle, the Ecuadorian government may go out of their way to show how cooperative they are in August's case. "See how helpful we are? We didn't grant Snowden asylum just to thumb our noses at the US! We love the US. We've done A, B, C and D to help find this missing American boy."

 

[fabvab]

A Tulsa man was kidnapped in Ecuador in 1993 and gave this message to the family...
http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomanews/okc/tulsa-man-to-reiger-family-hell-make-it-back-safe-and-sound/-/11777584/20699462/-/wcok4tz/-/index.html?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=koco%2Beyewitness%2Bnews%2B5

 

[missgulfsouth]

Help me understand this. If he were kidnapped, what is the purpose? There have been no demands for ransom. Why would they move him to more secure territory?

I'm having a hard time buying this scenario.

*I read this from the article link above:
"Joe Eaton, an oil and gas engineer in Tulsa, was kidnapped in Ecuador in 1993."
Mr. Eaton was clearly a target due to his wealth.

Is the Reiger family wealthy?

 

[necco]

There are usually three reasons for kidnappings in South/Central America: ransom, political leverage and prisoner exchange

As for whether or not August's family has money, keep in mind that if this is some cartel or paramilitary organization, chances are, the people who did the actual kidnapping (if that is what happened) are not very well educated. Americans and people of European descent are often assumed to be rich when traveling in South/Central American. Even middle class tourists are wealthier than most of the people in the countries they are visiting.