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As the following case studies from Control Risks Group attest, kidnappings and kidnapping attempts are committed for a wide variety of reasons and can occur anywhere in the world.
THE UNITED STATES
John Grundhofer, chairman of First Bank System Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was kidnapped in his company's parking lot. The kidnapper drove him to Wisconsin, then bound him and left him in a sleeping bag. He managed to escape two hours later. The ransom demand was reported to be $3 million.
Charles Geschke, a computer executive with Adobe Systems in California, was abducted at gunpoint in the company parking lot on May 26, 1992. A ransom of $650,000 was paid. Five days later, police arrested one of the two suspects, who in turn told them where to find Mr. Geschke. The second suspect was arrested while fleeing the scene of Mr. Geschke's detainment. Two days later, the ransom money was recovered.
In Berkeley, California, a newborn baby was taken from the hospital by a woman posing as a...