All posts tagged: abduction

Abducted as babies in the 1970s, these Argentines found a way toward their true identity

Abducted as babies in the 1970s, these Argentines found a way toward their true identity

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Claudia Poblete can’t help it. On certain days, as she passes in front of a church, she automatically crosses herself while her children gaze at her with confusion. She didn’t raise them as Catholics — as she was — because her spirituality has shifted. In 2000, Poblete didn’t go by her current name. She was called Mercedes Landa, and before a judge showed her a DNA test result that confirmed her true identity, she was unaware that she was among hundreds of babies who were abducted during the Argentine dictatorship. Poblete is one of the 133 “recovered grandchildren” of Argentina. Now adults, they were found by their biological families years after their parents went missing when the military took power on March 24, 1976. Until democracy was restored in 1983, at least 30,000 people had disappeared. Many of them were militants whose mothers started gathering at Buenos Aires’ main square and later became known as the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Many of the Mothers had children who were detained …

A two-stage psychological model that explains alien abduction stories

A two-stage psychological model that explains alien abduction stories

Adapted from The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal by Chris French. Published by The MIT Press. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. The first alien abduction case to really grab the public’s attention was that of Betty and Barney Hill. On the night of September 19, 1961, the Hills were driving back from a short holiday in Canada to their home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, when, at around 10:30 p.m., Betty spotted a bright light near the moon. When it appeared to get bigger and brighter, they stopped the car and observed the light through binoculars. Betty thought she saw a huge, oddly shaped craft that might be a UFO. Barney initially thought that it was an aircraft. However, he quickly changed his mind. A little farther into their journey, they stopped again, and Barney got out of the car to observe the craft through the binoculars. He walked toward the craft until he was only 50 feet from it as it hovered at about tree height. He later reported that …

Gunmen kidnap 15 children in yet another school abduction in northern Nigeria

Gunmen kidnap 15 children in yet another school abduction in northern Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria — Armed men broke into a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria early Saturday and seized 15 children as they slept, police told The Associated Press, about 48 hours after nearly 300 students were taken hostage in the conflict-hit region. School abductions are common in Nigeria’s northern region, especially since the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Islamic extremists in Borno state’s Chibok village shocked the world. Armed gangs have since targeted schools for kidnap ransoms, resulting in at least 1,400 abducted since then. The gunmen in the latest attack invaded the Gidan Bakuso village of the Gada council area in Sokoto state at about 1 a.m. local time, police said. They headed to the Islamic school where they seized the children from their hostel before security forces could arrive, Sokoto police spokesman Ahmad Rufa’i told the AP. One woman was also abducted from the village, Rufa’i said, adding that a police tactical squad was deployed to search for the students. The inaccessible roads in the area, however, challenged the rescue operation, he said, adding: “It …

Cambodia Ends Probe Into Abduction of Thai Activist

Cambodia Ends Probe Into Abduction of Thai Activist

washington / phnom penh, Cambodia —  Authorities in Cambodia say they have closed a probe into missing Thai pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who was allegedly abducted in Phnom Penh four years ago. Wanchalearm was pushed into a black Toyota Highlander SUV on June 4, 2020, near the Mekong Gardens condominium, where he lived, eyewitnesses told VOA Khmer reporters at the time. Cambodian authorities said last week that they were unable to confirm he ever lived in the building, or find details about the vehicle he was allegedly taken away in. “We have filed the report to court and the investigation is finished,” Khieu Sopheak, secretary of state and spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told VOA Khmer on February 27. Despite the ministry’s remarks, it is unclear if the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has closed the case. Sam Chamroeun, the Cambodian lawyer for Wanchalearm’s family, told VOA Khmer last week that he had not been given notice of the case being closed. VOA Khmer asked a court spokesman for comment but received no reply. Wanchalearm’s family …

Sophie Turner’s Child Abduction Petition Against Joe Jonas Is Officially Dismissed by Judge

Sophie Turner’s Child Abduction Petition Against Joe Jonas Is Officially Dismissed by Judge

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are one step closer to the finish line in their ongoing divorce case. According to court documents obtained by ET, the Game of Thrones star on Tuesday filed paperwork in the Southern District of New York requesting that her lawsuit against the Jonas Brothers singer for “wrongful retention” of their two daughters be dismissed. The following day, ET confirmed that a judge officially signed off on dismissing the order.  Turner’s request came on the heels of the estranged couple hammering out and signing a temporary custody deal back in October. A judge in the U.K. signed off on that deal following a four-day mediation, and now a judge in New York has signed off on Turner’s request to toss the lawsuit she filed against Jonas amid their tumultuous custody battle over their two daughters — Willa, 3, and Delphine, 1 — in order for their divorce case in Florida to move forward. Getty As ET previously reported, Turner and Jonas’ split (he filed for divorce on Sept. 5) turned contentious after she sued …

Sophie Turner Drops Child Abduction Claim Against Joe Jonas After Custody Agreement

Sophie Turner Drops Child Abduction Claim Against Joe Jonas After Custody Agreement

A New York judge dismissed the child abduction lawsuit Wednesday filed in September by Sophie Turner, in which the Game of Thrones alum requested her two young daughters with estranged husband Joe Jonas be returned to England from the United States. According to court documents obtained by People, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York agreed to drop her “wrongful retention” claims after Turner and Jonas amicably signed a consent plan approved by a U.K. court judge last week. The initial suit was reportedly filed mere weeks after the former couple announced plans to divorce. Turner alleged at the time that her children had spent all summer in the U.S. with Jonas and weren’t given back to her for a previously agreed-upon return to England. The suit claimed Jonas had instead officially filed for divorce and withheld the children’s passports. The singer reportedly claimed via a representative at the time that returning the passports so their kids could leave the country would violate a Florida court order where the marriage dissolution was …

Police launch investigation into alleged abduction of Alex Batty | Greater Manchester

Police launch investigation into alleged abduction of Alex Batty | Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester police have said they have launched an investigation into the alleged abduction of 17-year-old Alex Batty, who went missing while on holiday in Spain at the age of 11. Police officers have interviewed the teenager, from Oldham, who was found walking in France, as part of efforts to establish whether he was abducted. In a recent interview with the Sun newspaper, Alex said he had been living with his mother Melanie Batty in Chalabre in the Aude region of southern France but chose to leave after an argument. He said he wanted to receive a conventional education so he could become a computer software engineer. The boy’s image filled newspaper pages when he was reported missing by his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana six years ago when he did not return from a prearranged trip. She believed his mother and grandfather David had taken him to live with a spiritual community in Morocco. It is thought that he moved around a lot in Spain and France as a child, most recently living …

Alex Batty: Police launch criminal investigation into alleged abduction | UK News

Alex Batty: Police launch criminal investigation into alleged abduction | UK News

A criminal investigation has been launched into alleged child abduction in connection with Alex Batty – who reappeared this month after going missing six years ago. The investigation has been launched by Greater Manchester Police. Alex, now 17, has returned to the UK after spending years in France and Spain with his mother and grandfather. He was taken on holiday when he was 11 – away from his grandmother and legal guardian – and never returned until now. The teenager, from Oldham, fled his mother this month and was found walking in the French Pyrenees mountains six years after his disappearance. Image: The Sun front page In a newspaper interview, the teenager said it felt “surreal” to be home and he still goes to sleep not expecting to wake up in England. He was 11 when he went on holiday with his mother Melanie Batty – who does not have legal parental guardianship – and his grandfather David Batty, 59, in 2017. He never returned and is said to have lived an “alternative” lifestyle abroad …