Free Republic

D.B. Cooper: 40 years later November 24th, 2011, marks the 40th anniversary of the legendary Cooper case, an unsolved crime that has baffled agents, detectives and amateur sleuths, and spurned one of the greatest manhunts in law enforcement history. The FBI’s case file on D.B. Cooper runs some forty feet long. It is located in the basement archives of the Bureau’s field office in Seattle, where for four decades agents have hunted for the man who ransomed a passenger jet for a small fortune and parachutes, then jumped out the back over the rural Northwest, during the middle of a...

South Carolina man's attempt to fake his own kidnapping Thursday went awry, starting when his mother negotiated down his ransom to $60 from $100. Christopher Hutto, 30, of Elgin was charged with extortion for orchestrating the "kidnapping" and then trying to get money from his mother, said Sheriff Jim Matthews. Hutto had tried to get his mother to pay $100 to find out where the supposed kidnapper had dumped his allegedly badly beaten body, Matthews said. But his mother got the alleged kidnapper to drop the price by $40 after she said she couldn't afford to pay that much for...

CENTERVILLE — Ladybug, a 4-year-old, black-and-brown Yorkshire terrier, may have learned a few new tricks over the past several weeks. The 3½-pound pup has been held ransom by prostitutes since Aug. 15, when the two women, who were visiting the son of the dog's owner at the family's Centerville home, allegedly took Ladybug in lieu of payment, according to the police and the victim. The loss of Ladybug was devastating, said the dog's 84-year-old owner. She recently had a stroke and Ladybug is an important part of her life, she said. "She's like a service dog," the woman said, crying...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2011 – Somali pirates killed all four Americans they had held hostage aboard a sailing vessel in the Indian Ocean this morning, U.S. Central Command officials announced. U.S. officials were negotiating with the pirates for the safe return of the captured Americans when the murders took place, officials said. Centcom officials said that in the midst of negotiations, U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the S/V Quest. When the forces reached the boat, officials said, they discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately...

The Times of London reports in tomorrow's edition that the Italians have agreed to stop paying ransoms to kidnapers in Iraq, a policy change that brings Rome into line with other Western nations. In further developments, an Italian parliamentarian indicated that despite earlier assertions that the Americans had been alerted to Sgrena's release and Calipari's itinerary, the Italians never got clearance for their vehicle: [THE Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has promised President George W Bush that he will not pay more ransoms to free hostages in Iraq. The Italian government has denied newspaper reports that $6m (£3.1m) was paid...

Electrocution, gang rape, sodomy, starvation, pistol whipping, amputation and other atrocities are all daily occurrences for those who thought they had paid the full fee needed to get into America,.  This and more is all going on right next door to many unsuspecting citizens living in the suburbs.  When Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, and other politicians decided to force banks into giving loans to people who could not afford them so they could purchase homes,  the housing was bound to eventually come tumbling down.  Well today, millions of foreclosed homes sit empty in suburbs all across America.  Most have...

Kidnapper testifies victim was 'cooked' in Mexico Associated Press McALLEN — A man who pleaded guilty to committing a series of kidnappings on behalf of the Mexican Gulf cartel's enforcers has testified at the trial of a co-defendant that the body of a Texas victim was "cooked" on a ranch in Mexico. Gerardo Zamora Espinoza testified Wednesday that Daniel Ramirez Jr. was kidnapped from the convenience store where he worked in 2008 because a high-ranking member of the cartel's enforcement arm was trying to expand his power in the area. Espinoza said he was told by his nephew who allegedly...

At least six people have been killed during intense fighting between rival Somali pirates arguing over a record ransom paid for an oil-laden Greek supertanker, elders and pirates said on Tuesday. Three pirates and a civilian were killed in the latest bout of fighting that erupted in the town of Harardhere late Monday, elders and pirates told AFP by phone. Tension has been high in the central Somali pirate lair ever since an estimated seven million dollars were dropped by a small plane on Sunday for the release of the VLCC Maran Centaurus, a Greek-flagged supertanker a third of a...

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates freed a Greek-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil on Monday, a day after the biggest ransom yet paid to them was dropped onto its deck, the pirates and a maritime official said. The Maran Centaurus was seized on November 29 with 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and a Romanian on board. An aircraft dropped a ransom believed to be between $5.5 million and $7 million onto the vessel on Sunday, officials said. "We have agreed to solve our disagreements and release the ship. It is free and sailing away now," one of...

Mauritania government has increased security for tourists in the country following the abductions last week of two Italian tourists near the border with Mali. Sergio Cicala and his wife Philomene Kabouree were kidnapped in an area of Mauritania where armed groups with links to Al-Qaeda are known to operate, diplomats said. There are suspicions the couple may have been smuggled into neighbouring Mali. "After these new kidnappings, it has been decided to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the personal security of foreigners in our country," the government said, quoted on Monday by pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi. It was the...

A parcel of land here that sold for $12,000 two years ago now costs more than $20,000. The price of a nice pair of men's shoes has gone up from $20 to $50. The reason: pirates. The influx of millions of dollars in ransoms has changed life in this coastal Muslim community, driving prices up and creating a schism between the pirate haves and have-nots. As piracy ramps up again with the end of the monsoon season, the lifestyle of the pirates _ big houses, fast cars and easy drugs _ is decried by both religious leaders and ordinary villagers....

MOGADISHU, Somalia — As a Spanish warship looked on, a $3.3 million ransom was delivered by boat Tuesday and Somali pirates freed a Spanish trawler and its 36 crew members. Spain's prime minister did little to deny paying off the hijackers — one reason the lucrative attacks are on the rise. "The government did what it had to do," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference in Madrid. "The important thing is that the sailors will be back with us. The first obligation of a country, of the government of a state, is to save the lives...

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Pirates freed 36 crew members from a Spanish trawler Tuesday after holding them for more than six weeks off the coast of Somalia, while a self-proclaimed pirate said the hostage-takers were paid $3.3 million in ransom. In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the tuna boat Alakrana "is sailing toward safer waters. All of its crew members are safe and sound."

Note: The following text is a quote: Madhatta Haipe Extradited to U.S. for 1995 Hostage Taking Involving U.S. and Philippine Citizens WASHINGTON—The Justice Department today announced that Madhatta Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines, has been extradited from the Philippines to face trial in the District of Columbia for various crimes relating to the hostage taking of U.S. and Philippine citizens in 1995. Haipe was arrested Aug. 27 upon his arrival in the United States and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in federal court in the District of Columbia to face a seven-count indictment filed on...

Somali pirates holding a German ship with five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos on board have received a $2.7 million ransom and are counting it before releasing the ship, a pirate told Reuters.

SOMALI pirates fired in the air in jubilation after receiving a $1.8 million ransom in exchange for the release of a German-owned vessel and its 11-member crew. Somali sea gangs, operating in the strategic shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe, have made millions of dollars in ransom from hijacking vessels in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. "We have taken a $1.8 million ransom and released the German ship," pirate Ahmed said from a lair in the town of Eyl on the Somali coast. The 146-metre MV Victoria, an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo vessel, was hijacked by eight pirates...

omali pirates have released a German-owned cargo ship held for nearly three months and its crew of 11 Romanians. The pirates said a ransom of $1.8m (£1.1m) was paid. Reports say they fired in the air in jubilation when the money was delivered in a tugboat. The ship - the MV Victoria - was captured in May in the Gulf of Aden, south of the Yemeni port of al-Mukalla. Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships off the Somali coast last year, taking in millions in ransom payments. Another German ship, the Hansa Stavanger, is still being held. It was...

Filipino Militants Behead Kidnapped Farmer: Police By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: May 17, 2009 ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine police recovered the severed head of a farm owner kidnapped by Muslim militants and authorities said Monday he was likely beheaded because his family failed to pay ransom. Doroteo Gonzales, 61, was snatched by gunmen April 25 from his house in southern Zamboanga city and brought to nearby Basilan Island, where al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels are holding at least five other people in a surge of ransom kidnappings. The gunmen were believed to have links to the Abu Sayyaf, and Gonzales...

BAGHDAD, May 14, 2009 – Under the cover of night, an element of Iraqi special operations forces recovered a young kidnap victim being held for ransom in the Iraqi capital during an early-morning, Iraqi-led operation yesterday. An Iraqi special operations forces battalion commander greets an 8-year-old boy at a May 13, 2009, meeting in Baghdad after soldiers rescued the boy from kidnappers who had held him for ransom for two days. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operating under the authority of a warrant issued by Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Bureau, the Iraqi...

Note: The following article SNIPPET is a quote: WASHINGTON, D.C. (ANS) -- The body of a kidnapped 5-year-old Christian boy was discovered riddled with gunshots in Iraq on May 11. International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that Tony Adwar Shaweel was kidnapped on March 5, 2009 by an unknown group who demanded a ransom of $50,000. ICC says the identity of Tony's kidnappers and murderers is still unknown. However, Christians in Iraq have been increasingly targeted by criminal gangs, Islamic extremists and other armed groups as part of a broader strategy to drive the Iraqi Christian population from country....

Four men accused of planning to kidnap two Roanoke County women and hold them for ransom were indicted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke. Joshua Kasongo, 19, of Roanoke; Mohammed Hussein Guhad, 19, of Roanoke; Luke Musa Elbino, 19, of Vinton; and Anthony Eugene Muse, 18, of Roanoke are each charged with conspiring to kidnap and attempted kidnapping. Guhad and Muse are students at Patrick Henry High School. Elbino is a student at Virginia Western Community College.

$10M ransom payment, or hackers will post Virginians' private files The FBI is on the trail of hackers who claim to have accessed the personal information of millions of Virginians. They're holding the information hostage, and are threatening to dispurse the sensitive data on the Internet if they don't receive a $10 million ransom. The hacker or hackers posted the ransom note on "Wikileaks," a Web site that allows for anonymous tips about leaks of government information. The note claims that the personal information came from a raid on a state agency's computer database, and that the hackers are now...

Should the US government pay the pirates a ransom to secure the hostage's release? Yes No

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a drifting lifeboat want $2 million for his release, a fellow pirate onshore said on Friday. The pirate, speaking to Reuters from Haradheere port, also said other pirates were taking a hijacked German ship, with foreign crew on board, toward the scene in the Indian Ocean where the lifeboat is floating, watched by U.S. warships. "Knowing that the Americans will not destroy this German ship and its foreign crew, they (the approaching pirates) hope they can meet their friends on the lifeboat," said the pirate, who has given reliable information...

A wealthy businessman was kidnapped and his family ordered to pay a £1.5 million ransom demand, a court heard. The gang swooped as the victim locked up his factory in Leicestershire. The victim, who is in his 40s, was hit on the head, bundled into an Audi and forced to crouch in the car's footwell with a blanket over his head, the court heard He was taken to Birmingham, where he was tied up and held captive for three days, it was claimed. Three men are on trial accused of conspiracy to commit kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail between December...

Reporting from Phoenix -- In broad daylight one January afternoon, on a street of ranch-style houses with kidney-shaped swimming pools, Juan Francisco Perez-Torres was kidnapped in front of his wife, daughter and three neighbors. Two men with a gun grabbed the 34-year-old from his van and dragged him 50 yards to a waiting SUV. His wife threw rocks at the car, then gave chase in her own SUV. Neighbors in northwest Phoenix called police. Yet when police found her later, she at first denied there was a problem.

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- One of the pirates who held a Saudi oil supertanker off Somalia before releasing it for ransom has told CNN how five in his group drowned when the boat in which they left the ship capsized as they tried to evade rival pirates seeking a cut of the money. Pirates seized the Sirius on November 15. A $3.5 million ransom payment -- down from the initial demand of $25 million -- was dropped by parachute onto the ship Friday, but the pirates delayed the vessel's release after the drownings. "Other pirates on the shore wanted a...

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Jan. 11) - The body of a Somali pirate who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom washed onshore with $153,000 in cash, a resident said Sunday, as the spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a Ukrainian arms ship. Five pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized after they received a reported $3 million ransom for releasing a Saudi oil tanker. Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Haradhere and relatives were searching for the other four.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the dead men said Saturday. Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday. He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of...

WASHINGTON -- Piracy has long been the consequence of disorder. America's first foreign war -- undeclared but authorized by Congress -- was waged by President Thomas Jefferson against the Barbary pirates. It is instructive history for those who believe that the problem of Somali piracy can be solved the same way. By the late 1700s, the European powers were incapable of maintaining maritime law and order, and Islamic piracy became a flourishing enterprise in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Despite "tribute" payments to the "governments" in Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco by the British, French...

An American journalist was kidnapped by Taliban militants in the Afghan province of Logar, located 60 kilometres south of the capital Kabul. David Rohde, a journalist working for the US daily The New York Times, was abducted along with his driver and interpreter by a Taliban group known as Siraj Haqqani and has been taken to eastern Afghanistan, sources told Adnkronos International (AKI). War-torn Afghanistan has seen a surge in kidnappings of foreigners by Taliban militants recently. On Monday, Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung was freed in Kabul after being held in captivity for four weeks by militants.

Congressional Democrats began to set their own terms on Sunday for a plan to rescue the nation's financial institutions, including greater legislative oversight of the Treasury Department, more direct assistance for homeowners and limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help.

Last year the Phoenix police department handed 359 extortion-related kidnapping cases, Sgt. Phil Roberts said. The ransom demands in these cases can range from $50,000 to $1 million, he said. Excerpt, read the rest of the related news article here. Click here to watch the video from KPHO news.

Colombia's left-wing Farc rebels have kidnapped 10 people in the north-west of the country. Guerrillas forced a boat load of people travelling along the Atrato River in Choco province to the shore, before seizing the hostages. Kidnappings for ransom remain the main source of income for the Farc, along with drug trafficking. Earlier this month their best-known hostage, ex-presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt, was rescued by troops.

Somali pirates took a 750,000 dollar ransom for the release of 15 crew and their German-owned ship after a 41-day hostage ordeal... "Tuesday morning, when pirates finally got the money they wanted, they counted it from seven in the morning until six in the evening and then they finally left," ... He did not say who paid the ransom or how it was delivered. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet had earlier told the daily Eesti Paevaleht that the state was not involved in any ransom payment. "We don't make deals with terrorists," Paet said. The German-owner of the ship, the...

Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting 'a reliable source'. The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said. Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million. The radio said its source was 'close to the events,...

U.S. authorities helped facilitate a $32,000 ransom payment in Mexico for a relative of a U.S. congressman who was kidnapped last week by gunmen in Ciudad Juarez..... Erika Posselt, a Mexican national described only as "a relative of the wife" of Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Texas Democrat and powerful chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, was abducted June 19 ......in Juarez. Held for three days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents - at Mr. Reyes' request - helped arrange her safe return. ........ the kidnappers negotiated with Mrs. Posselt's brother in Juarez and agreed to release her...

THE LAST TIME Bill Whiting heard his little brown dog, she was screaming in pain as two miserable bastards tortured her. Whiting heard this over the phone as the two monsters demanded money to return the Beagle mix. Her name was Edna, and she was so gentle that Whiting took her to hospitals, where patients cheered up as they petted her. Edna had pointed bunny ears, warm brown eyes and was Whiting's "constant companion" since he adopted her a decade ago. She had never known anything but kindness from human hands. Whiting made sure that Edna always wore her collar....

THE crew of a Spanish fishing boat seized by pirates off Somalia have been freed... The Playa de Bakio trawler has been taken to "safer waters", escorted by a Spanish warship, and the government is making plans to repatriate the 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans, she said. Speaking at a press conference, she did not indicate the circumstances in which the crew were released, or whether a ransom had been paid. Spanish news media said earlier a ransom of 1 million euros...had been demanded, and negotiations were taking place at a London hotel. The 76-metre trawler and its crew were...

Somali forces rescued a hijacked ship carrying food to this desperately poor African nation Tuesday, as a top security official accused U.S. troops stationed off the lawless coast of failing to combat growing piracy. Seven pirates were arrested and three were wounded in the raid on the Dubai-flagged al-Khaleej, said Abdullahi Said Samatar... "It is sad that the American forces off the coast of Somalia are here for fun and are not combatting the pirates," ... A spokesman for the transitional government, Abdi Hagi Gobdon, welcomed French and U.S. efforts to combat piracy and guard the country's coastline. The transitional...

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somali pirates freed a Spanish fishing boat and its 26-member crew after a ransom of $1.2 million was paid, a Somali official said. The Playa de Bakio was the latest vessel to be targeted by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Suspected pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades had seized control of the tuna-fishing boat from Spain's Basque region last Sunday about 200 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, a region where piracy has escalated recently. The pirates released the ship Saturday, authorities said. The crew was freed after Spanish authorities paid the ransom, Abdi Khalif...

Six Somali men involved in capturing a French yacht and holding its 30 crew hostage have said they were part of a maritime militia group with a written code of conduct... The men were captured in the Somali desert by French troops on Friday after holding the yacht and its crew off Somalia for a week and fleeing with part of the ransom, which was recovered. They were flown to France this week to face trial. The yacht's captain told investigators the ransom paid was $2 million (1 million pounds). But the half-dozen men are just part of a larger...

PARIS (AFP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy met Tuesday with the families of 22 French crew members held hostage on a luxury yacht for the last five days by pirates off the coast of Somalia, an Elysee official said. Some 40 members of the hostages' families arrived at the French presidential Elysee palace just after 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), leaving 90 minutes later without making any comment to an AFP reporter waiting at the scene. As the families were with Sarkozy, the 32-cabin yacht Ponant remained moored in waters near a village, Garaad, on the eastern Somali coast, north of Mogadishu...

Organized, well-financed and violent Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting a growing number of U.S. citizens visiting communities popular with San Diegans and other California residents. Advertisement Last year, at least 26 San Diego County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach or Ensenada, local FBI agents overseeing the cases said yesterday.

D.B. COOPER REDUX Help Us Solve the Enduring Mystery 12/31/07 On a cold November night 36 years ago, in the driving wind and rain, somewhere between southern Washington state and just north of Portland, Oregon, a man calling himself Dan Cooper parachuted out of a plane he’d just hijacked clutching a bag filled with $200,000 in stolen cash. Who was Cooper? Did he survive the jump? And what happened to the loot, only a small part of which has ever surfaced? It’s a mystery, frankly. We’ve run down thousands of leads and considered all sorts of scenarios. And amateur sleuths...

On This Day In History November 24, 1971 Hijacker parachutes into thunderstorm A hijacker calling himself D.B. Cooper parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 into a raging thunderstorm over Washington State. He had $200,000 in ransom money in his possession. Cooper commandeered the aircraft shortly after takeoff, showing a flight attendant something that looked like a bomb and informing the crew that he wanted $200,000, four parachutes, and "no funny stuff." The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where authorities met Cooper's demands and evacuated most of the passengers. Cooper then demanded that the plane fly toward Mexico at...

A couple have told how they paid a £750 ransom to a gang for the return of their beloved pet lurcher. The dog, named Buddy, was snatched by four men as David Cornock collected his morning newspaper. advertisement After almost two months, he had given up all hope of getting it back. But Mr Cornock and his wife Mareth received a £750 ransom demand. After a clandestine meeting in a dark layby, they were reunited with their pet dog. Police criticised the couple for giving in to the ransom demand, saying it made their work "difficult". But Mrs Cornock, 63,...

Taliban use hostage cash to fund UK blitz By Massoud Ansari in Kila Abdullah, Pakistan Last Updated: 12:20am BST 14/10/2007 Millions of dollars handed over to secure the release of South Korean hostages in Afghanistan have been used to buy weapons deployed against British and American forces in the country, the Taliban claims. Killed: Major Alexis Roberts Major Alexis Roberts, 32, Prince William's former platoon commander at Sandhurst, was one of the victims of the Taliban offensive funded by the hostage money. According to Taliban fighters interviewed by The Sunday Telegraph, the money has also been used to train recruits...

S.Korea paid over $20 mln ransom-Taliban By Saeed Ali Achakzai Reuters - Saturday, September 1 11:34 am SPIN BOLDAK (Reuters) - South Korea paid Afghanistan's Taliban more than $20 million (9.9 million pounds) to release 19 missionaries they were holding hostage, a senior insurgent leader said on Saturday, vowing to use the funds to buy arms and mount suicide attacks. The freed hostages flew out of Afghanistan on Friday to Dubai en route for South Korea. Seoul denies paying a ransom, but critics say negotiating with the Taliban sets a dangerous precedent that could spur more kidnappings -- which the...

Taliban free all Korean hostages Critics say Seoul may have set a dangerous precedent by dealing with the Taliban [Reuters] The Taliban's last three South Korean hostages have been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after six weeks in captivity. The man and two women were in a Red Cross vehicle being driven to the town of Ghazni, Irfan Sulejmani, an ICRC official, said late on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Taliban had released four South Korean hostages. Two men and two women were delivered to ICRC representatives by tribal mediators on a road...