kidnap
Latest
Man kidnaps himself for 'Nintendo computer'
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Man_kidnaps_himself_for_Nintendo_Computer'; How far would you go to obtain a Wii? Would you rob a bank? Freeze yourself? Kidnap yourself?That's what one "Mr. Yang" of Shangqiu, China has attempted, after his parents refused to buy him a Wii. At least, we think it was a Wii -- the original China Daily article endearingly describes how the man was desperate for a "Nintendo computer."Whatever Yang was after, he went to some lengths to achieve it, colluding with two other men who acted as his kidnappers and demanded a $1,400 ransom to bring the false abduction to an end. Police apparently caught the two "kidnappers" while they were withdrawing the sum from an ATM. Genius![Via Destructoid]
Missing teen found after she ran away with her 27 year old WoW boyfriend
Morgon Douglas Jones, a 27 year old gamer, is going to find himself in a lot of trouble. He ran off with a 14 year old girl he met through WoW. They were found safe in a campground in Franklin County, Washington. We (and several of you commenters) have covered age related issues before: from age restricted servers to youths applying to raiding guilds.I am amazed at some of the creeps who play this game, and Morgon Jones definitely falls into that category. 27 years old and running off with a 14 year old girl he met through the game. It's time for him to get outside and enjoy life while he still can, since hopefully there'll be some good ol' prison time coming his way.Reader Basic sent us the tip for this story posted on the KTVB.com website, and you can read the full article over there. There is an error in the article however, where the author says WoW is a science fiction based game, when it is actually a fantasy game (unless the author was making a critique on Outlands being too SciFi for the game, but that's highly doubtful and not given at all in the context of the article).
PSP helped save a kidnap and torture victim
Jose Ignacio Ortega Garcia, a recent victim of a horrifying kidnapping and torture, managed to survive his horrifying experience by using a PSP to distract his captors. According to a local news report, it appears the kidnappers were distracted by the PSP. "On June 21, Gonzales gave Sanchez a hand-held video game that would prove to be Garcia's savior," the report explains. Sanchez supposedly played "virtually all day that day and much of the night."Garcia was able to loosen his bindings while his kidnappers were playing, and was able to run away, screaming for help. Although he received serious physical and mental injury, we're glad to report that he's alive.We want to offer our sympathy to Mr. Garcia, and hope he makes a full recovery. We hope that any comments made on this story are respectful to Mr. Garcia and his family. Thank you.[Via Joystiq]
Kidnap victim saved by the PSP
A Tennessee man who was kidnapped and tortured for nine days in a motel managed to escape thanks in part to the Sony PSP.According to an FBI report obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel, one of the two assailants had given the other a hand-held video game that he played "virtually all day that day and much of the night." (GamePolitics later confirmed from an FBI filing that it was a PSP.) The victim loosened his bindings while the kidnapper played and, when the he had fallen asleep, used the opportunity to escape.Both men have been arrested in connection to the incident; there is an investigation as to the mens' involvement in similar cases.
World of Warcraft relationship ends in arrest
And here's to you Mrs. Broome, Jesus loves you more than you will know, but the US has has laws against seducing 17-year-old boys. Tamara Broome, a 31-year-old Australian woman has been arrested by US authorities for attempting to "abduct" her 17-year-old male friend whom she met while playing the "medieval-themed" World of Warcraft. The couple had allegedly planned to marry and the sting was set up by the boy's parents who apparently lured Broome to North Carolina where she planned to meet her betrothed and bring him back to Australia. And before it gets all technical about the age of consent, North Carolina law states an underage minor is 17 and below.Ms. Broome is being held on $2.35 million bond and could face two years in jail if found guilty. Could be worse, she could have sold an M rated game in the state of New York to a minor. Broome will appear in court July 11. And to think all she had to do was wait one more year. On the bright side she'll have plenty of rested XP bonus when she gets out.[Via GuardianBlog]
AMBER Alert comes to Kingston's Child ID USB flash drive
Similar to just about every other USB flash drive manufacturer out there, Kingston's renditions aren't any stranger to somewhat superfluous security layers, but the firm's latest thumb drive looks to keep your child safe by teaming up with AMBER Alert. While the kid-protecting service has already been available via SMS, the Child ID Kit allows users to upload a smorgasbord of information about a single child including photos, birthdate, hair / eye color, contact information, nicknames, and even fields for parents to explain gaudy tattoos and embarrassing piercings that should only be divulged when searching for a missing youngster. Sporting 512MB of internal storage, password protection, and obligatory encryption, paranoid guardians can snap up one (or more) now for $29.95 apiece. Still, we're not entirely convinced this ultra-modern edition of the milk carton splash will actually help you find missing kiddos any faster, but at least you won't be forced to go searching for their blood type at inopportune times.[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
Kidnapper had Live, posted image of victim [update 1]
Some of our readers may have heard of the recent recovery of two kidnapped boys in Missouri. As the story goes, Ben Ownby, 13 (missing since last week) and Shawn Hornbeck, 15 (missing since October 2002) were found in the apartment home of one Michael Devlin, 41. The safe return of these two boys to their families is certainly cause for celebration, but the story goes further than that. Gamertag Radio has the full story: Devlin is a member of Xbox Live. While this is nothing extraordinary in and of itself, one of Devlin's acts is strange to say the least. On the website Gamertagpics.com, Devlin -- under his Gamertag, DevilDevlin -- posted a photograph of Hornbeck taken during his captivity. Devlin was online playing Saints Row as recently as January 13. Oddly, Hornbeck had many opportunities to escape, as he was allowed to ride a bicycle and was often seen playing video games with the apartment door open (Hornbeck also found the time to pierce both his ear and tongue). The behavior seems strange, though psychologists are quick to point out that victims of kidnap often revert into a "survival mode" in order to cope. Whatever the motives of Devlin, we're glad to report the boys' safe return.Update: Removed side note.
