“The other kidnapper captured today, Rudy, was probably on the kidnapper team for his ability to apply brute force.” Daniel added. “When I talked to him, he really didn’t seem too smart. I was doing a pretty good job of convincing him that I was a boy scout until Encino blew my cover.”
“He was also Frank’s roommate, so he had to have been in on it, since the plan was to keep me captive in their basement,” Jason added.
“We should find out a lot more from the bank people on Monday about the other two criminals, Adrian Evans and our mystery mastermind,” Bill Hunter added. “Now that they have solid information, I believe they will act fast to apprehend them...if they are still in the country.”
Lt. Garcia finished taking statements from Chauncey, Reggie, Mariano, and Kololo. In each case he thanked them for helping to catch the kidnappers, but also warned them about taking vigilante action on their own in the future. “Please call us if you think there is a situation where force is needed.”
Chauncey reminded the lieutenant that that was exactly what he had done. “I called the 911 number as soon I realized we had to go into the house in order to help protect Jason and Daniel from the kidnappers. But we knew we couldn’t wait. They were already in serious danger and we had to act.”
As each of the four finished giving their statements and came out, the Hunter and Holmes families had no qualms about expressing their heartfelt thanks for what each of them had done for their sons. Mariano was especially moved by the praise and said, “As I said to Jason, we wanted to be there to help out someone who was acting so brave, such a vato. But the more I think about it, we should be there for anyone our age that needs help. We should all be looking out for each other. I am so solid for that now. I feel I learned something about being a good citizen today. You know, get involved.”
“Way to go, Mariano!” Jason exclaimed. “I’ve just met you and already I know you are going to be a good friend.”
Lt. Garcia assigned a couple of patrolmen to take the four young men home, along with their bikes and baseball bats. As they were leaving, Chauncey called out, “So long for now, Jason! We’ll do the grand slam for you any time. Keep in touch!”
Lt. Garcia was now ready to get complete statements from Jason and Daniel.
“Lt. Garcia, I would like to request that Jason and I give our statements together. We worked continuously as a team while doing our investigations and I think you would get a more complete picture,” Daniel said.
“I agree with Daniel,” Jason said. “Plus my dad had a lot to do with the investigation as it affected his business, especially since the real crime was actually to rob his safe deposit box. Our parents are all here and we have no reason to keep any secrets from anyone. Can we just go to a private room all together?”
“This is somewhat unorthodox,” Lt. Garcia replied. “On the other hand, what about this case hasn’t been unorthodox? If that is everyone’s wish, I have no objection.”
Everyone nodded their approval, so Lt. Garcia had Sgt. Nuñez and Det. Barclay set up the camera in one of the squad briefing rooms. When everything was ready and the camera rolling, Lt. Garcia began:
“This is Lt. Antonio Garcia of the Missing Persons Squad. I am here with Jason Hunter and Daniel Holmes to take their statements regarding the major breakthroughs in the recent Hunter kidnapping case that these two teenagers have discovered. As they are both minors, their parents William and Edith Hunter, and Gary and Melinda Holmes are also present. Mr. William Hunter’s business, Hunter & Sons Antiquities, also is a factor in this investigation.
“The last time I talked with both of you, you had given me a formal statement about your kidnapping and rescue a week ago Friday. Why don’t you update me on what happened after that?”
Jason talked about the joy he felt finally being free and reunited with family and friends, what he learned from the doctor about the drugs he was apparently given, what the psychologist thought the kidnappers had tried to do to him, and how the traumatic events of his kidnapping had started affecting his self-confidence. It only became worse when he found out what the ransom note had said.
Next, Daniel talked about how he and his friends were upset by the kidnapping, the anger and frustration it caused, and how it was eating away at Jason. He described how he finally had to almost browbeat Jason into agreeing to find out what really happened. Jason continued by saying how scared he was of reliving his experiences until finally Chauncey helped him to see the bigger picture of what was important in his life and the lives of his friends.
Daniel then described his elation when Jason accepted the challenge, because it meant he was on the road to recovery. He described the white board in his room, and how they had been determined to look at the case with a fresh set of eyes. Once they were able to do that, they discovered the problem with the ransom timeline and that the kidnapping was merely a diversion for the real crime, which turned out to be the robbery of the Hunter & Sons safe deposit box.
Bill Hunter took over the narrative for while, talking about how he worked with the two boys to figure out what the kidnappers’ true motives were which was to manipulate him into going to his safe deposit box to get the cash for the ransom. With the collusion of the bank employee and the still unknown other co-conspirator, they were able to break in and rob the Hunter box of its entire contents. Bill thought the robbers were after the four legacy items in the box. He talked about how the bank has a team investigating the robbery, how the crime was committed, and that bank security had the vault robbery recorded on the vault tapes. Also, he talked about the meeting the bank was planning for Monday, and how Lt. Garcia should coordinate their investigations since the kidnapping was related to the vault robbery.
Daniel then explained how he and Jason had attacked the problem of why his kidnapping was so perfectly executed. “We asked ourselves how the kidnappers had known exactly where and when to act?” Eventually everything boiled down to the fact Jason’s second cousin, Victor Encino, had to have played a bigger role in it than he had admitted to the police. That’s what he and Jason had decided to do this day; visit Victor and force him to tell them what had really gone on that day in the park. Once they were able to get Victor to confess how he had baited Jason into leaving, the whole remainder of the case broke wide open and the two friends realized they were literally footsteps away from the crime scene and that most likely two of the kidnappers were living next door to the Encinos.
Jason felt he had to act immediately on this new information because they couldn’t just rely on Victor’s testimony. While Daniel was outside scouting the area, he called Chauncey to back him up, gave him the address and directions how to get there, and told him to come right away with some friends, because they thought they had found the kidnappers and wanted to verify the truth about it before they could get away. They were hoping to confirm the hideout and then bring in the police, but unfortunately, Jason was spotted by Frank Encino. Things started to go badly for the boys when Daniel was walked into the house at gunpoint and then slugged. After that, it was a very scary few minutes for Jason when he was confronted by Frank Encino in that basement room. Luckily Jason was able to stall him with conversation until Chauncey and Reggie got there. “You know the rest, Lt. Garcia. You were there,” Jason said in conclusion.
“You boys have done an incredible job of investigation. This is really quite unprecedented in my experience. My only real concern is that you put yourselves in serious danger when you didn’t need to. I’m sure your parents have already discussed this with you.”
“I am sorry that things didn’t work out perfectly, but after what I went through with those kidnappers, I absolutely had to take that chance when the opportunity presented itself! But now Daniel and I are more than happy to leave the rest of the investigation in your capable hands, Lieutenant.”
“When Sgt. Malone gets back from searching the Encino residence, we will go through everything that he has found that links to your case. I will then mee
t with you again if we have any questions about what we find, and if we feel there is anything else for which we need to look. I will also get in contact with the bank investigative team to see what they have come up with and if they have located the other two suspects. You are free to leave now and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
“Oh, one other thing, there are some camera crews outside. The media is all over this because of the scene at the Encino residence and because your case is so unusual. Remember, you are not obligated to speak to them, although probably they want to lionize you for single-handedly solving the crime.”
“Lt. Garcia, we would be honored if you would introduce us then,” Daniel said, glancing at Jason. “Maybe you could smooth the way and give a brief statement so our meeting with them isn’t a free-for-all.”
“I would be happy to do so if that is your wish. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, are you okay with this? Jason?”
“I think that it is better to deal with the media now and not have them all over us later,” Bill Hunter said. “Jason, are you up for this?”
“With your support, I think I’m ready to talk to the news media,” Jason replied.
There were several camera crews waiting on the front steps of police headquarters when Lt. Garcia, the Hunters, and the Holmes went outside. The cameras began rolling. There was a little pandemonium as they all began to talk at once.
Lt. Garcia raised his hands up to quiet everyone down. “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I will present a brief statement and then our two young heroes here will be willing to answer a few questions.
“Today there have been some remarkable new developments in the Jason Hunter kidnapping case. If you remember, it was just over a week ago that young Jason was released by the kidnappers, who had demanded that his best friend, Daniel Holmes, sneak out of his house to find Jason in the old maintenance building in City Park. During his captivity, Jason was kept in a basement cell and treated very harshly much of the time by his kidnappers. There were many strange things about this kidnapping. Young Jason was drugged and taken out of the park in broad daylight with no sign of a struggle and seemed to disappear into thin air. We now know how they accomplished that. The kidnappers never made any attempt to contact Jason’s parents at their home, causing them great concern about what had happened to him. Friday morning they were able to get a ransom note to Mr. Hunter, by arranging a series of events that forced him to go to his business office where he received the ransom demand and then followed the kidnappers’ instructions on how to pay it. It was later discovered that the ransom demand, which was a very small amount of cash taken from his safe deposit box, was actually made after the kidnappers had already begun the process of releasing Jason. The ransom note even implied that the kidnapping was an ‘unfortunate mistake’ and that the small ransom requested was ordered by some ‘godfather’ in their organization as an apology.
“The actual truth of the matter was that the kidnapping itself was a hoax—a diversion to take everyone’s attention away from what the kidnappers’ true intentions were. Unfortunately, young Jason’s ordeal was real. He was treated cruelly by his captors so that everyone would focus on Jason’s ordeal and continue to think that his kidnapping was the only crime being committed. Instead, the criminals’ real purpose was to break into and seize everything inside of Mr. Hunter’s safe deposit box. The criminals were after legacy items of precious gems and any cash inside of the box. They were able to accomplish this without setting off the bank alarms by placing a tiny amount of plastic explosives inside the storage slot for Mr. Hunter’s box while Mr. Hunter was gathering together cash to pay the ransom. They then could remove the contents at their leisure. Currently there is a team of investigators pursuing those two men responsible for the safe deposit robbery, Adrian Evans, a former bank employee, and a yet to be identified criminal who rigged the explosives. Right now we have in custody two other men, Frank Encino and Rudolph Ruggiero, who were the actual kidnappers of Jason.
“All of the recent developments in this case have been due to the detective work of Jason and Daniel. These two young teens have bravely and doggedly pursued the kidnappers and discovered the true facts of this bizarre crime. Jason and Daniel will now answer your questions.”
Channel 11 began the questioning: “Jason, what made you decide to investigate your own kidnapping?”
“Actually, I think I should answer that question,” Daniel interrupted. Then he went on to explain how he and other teens felt about the kidnapping—how it was ruining their lives and how angry they were about what had happened to his friend, Jason.
Next, Jason described what it took for him to revisit the horrible experiences of his kidnapping.
The questioning continued on for about a half hour. Both Jason and Daniel took turns explaining how each part of the investigation was based on leads that came from examining everything that had happened with a fresh set of eyes. When all the main points were discussed, Jason closed the session by thanking everyone who had supported him through his ordeal and especially his friend Daniel. “Without Daniel’s persistence and unwavering support, this case would still be unsolved.”
As the two families walked to the police parking lot to get Daniel’s and Jason’s bikes, Jason said, “I know that we should probably be grounded for a week, but I really feel like celebrating, just with our two families and no one else. Can’t we overlook the down side for now and party today?”
“Well, Jason, you should be grounded as should my Daniel,” Melinda Holmes answered. “But you are right. A celebration is in order. Since you Hunters have had the most grueling experiences lately, we will host it at our house. Gary can put together a barbeque and between the rest of us adults, I’m sure that we can come up with a credible pot luck. It’s now a little past two, shall we say at five?” Everybody agreed and so the party was set.
That evening the media went into a frenzy over the Jason Hunter kidnapping story. It was a feature story on every newscast that night and it quickly got picked up on the Internet with headlines like Kidnap Victim Tracks Down His Kidnappers, Two Teens Take Down Criminal Gang, and Mysterious Crime Solved by Teenaged Detective Team. By Sunday it was carried on the national news. The Hunter & Holmes detective team was getting national recognition.
* * *
Later Saturday evening, while Jason and Daniel were playing games in Daniel’s room, their parents were discussing their situation and what was going on. They had watched some of the coverage on television and were beginning to realize that today’s events were going to change their lives again. Bill Hunter started by saying, “I think we are going to need to have some security at our homes. There is a company I use at the store. I gave them a call this afternoon to get someone out here right away. I think for now, I’ll just settle for a plain car here and at my house.”
“Isn’t that very expensive. We would like to chip in for our part,” Gary said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Bill replied. “One of the ironic things about the ransom of Jason was that Frank Encino’s great uncle Ricardo was persuaded to purchase a very expensive necklace so I would go to the office, unlock the private safe, and be there to get the package which had Jason’s ransom note. The necklace cost $749,000 and made me a very tidy profit. I think this might be a good cause into which to invest some of that extra money. Daniel and Jason are such close friends now, that Daniel is like a member of our family. Protecting him along with Jason is the least I can do.”
“I am really concerned that all of this media attention is going to be very disruptive of our lives, but also put new pressures on Daniel and Jason,” Melinda said. “The last thing I want to see is them lose their humility or sense of reality and start putting on airs about how great they are.”
“I don’t think that will necessarily happen,” Edith replied. “From what I have observed, both Daniel and Jason have never been pretentious and don’t see themselves as better than other kids. They both must have high IQs a
nd they certainly handle their schoolwork without any problems, at least so far. Yet, I have never seen either one lord their intelligence over another student.”
“I hate to suggest it,” Gary went on, “but are we letting them spend too much time together, to the detriment of them interacting with other friends and having other experiences?”
“I really don’t think so,” Melinda replied. “They are both only children, and they act a lot like brothers, maybe as a way to compensate for not having any siblings. Right now their support for each other is phenomenal. Given all that they have been through lately, especially Jason, I wouldn’t want to take any of that away. And you saw earlier how friendly and outgoing they were to Chauncey and his other friends. Sure those guys had just helped Jason and Daniel out of a jam, but all of them said how honored they were to be there to help. It seems clear to me that Jason and Daniel are connecting with other kids and have outside friends.”
Bill then said, “In talking with them about the case, and in working with them to solve the clues, I saw two great minds at work. These kids can’t even drive a car but they solved a criminal case that was baffling the police. Let’s face it—our kids are special. We are going to have to give them some leeway at times because I think they are going to continue to do impressive things in the future. I do have one great worry right now, however. That is the fact that somehow people have gotten the impression that the Hunter family is wealthy or is somehow sitting on some incredible hidden treasure. Jason said that Frank Encino kept repeating that over and over again. I have no idea where this notion comes from, but I sure would like to have it suppressed. It worries me to think that our family is still a target for the criminal element out there. And I fear that because of your family’s close association with us, you could also be targeted in some way.”
The Kidnapping Page 20