Kidnappers’ stolen van involved in BG exit ramp crash Thursday night

Security video of the two suspects in the kidnapping of an elderly Kansas City, Mo. man early Thursday morning. The man escaped his captors in St. Louis. The man’s stolen van was involved late Thursday night in a crash at the New Haven Road Bluegrass Parkway exit ramp. One suspect is described at 18 to 20 years old and 5-8 or 5-9 in height; the second suspect is 25 to 26 years old with a stocky build, 5-10 to 6 feet tall. Click to enlarge. 

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, 2:45 p.m. (Updated 3:40 p.m.) — The FBI has released surveillance photos of the two male suspects in an armed kidnapping Thursday of a Kansas City man whose van was involved in a crash Thursday night at Exit 21 of the Bluegrass Parkway off New Haven Road.

At about 10:44 p.m. Thursday, the victim’s 1998 Chevrolet 1500 van struck a tractor-trailer on the Exit 21 ramp, seriously damaging the van. A witness said only one person was in the van at the time of the wreck, and he walked away from the wreck scene before police arrived.

When it was determined the vehicle was stolen, police sealed off the area and searched for the suspect, but did not locate him.

One of the suspects is described as between 18 and 20 years old, 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9 in height. The other is described as 25 to 26 years old with a stocky build, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall.

This 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse was reported stolen Thursday night from Earl Court about an hour after the BG Parkway Exit 21 crash. Click to enlarge.

About 90 minutes after the crash, a gray 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse was reported stolen from a home on Earl Court, located behind the Five Star Food Mart south of the BG Parkway on US31E. The car’s Kentucky license plate is 663-JKY.

The kidnapping victim, a 67-year-old man, was abducted outside his home at about 5:30 a.m. He later escaped his captors near St. Louis. The man told police his captors assaulted him and forced him to make ATM withdrawals from several banks along their route. Police recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the crime near the scene where the man escaped his captors.

The suspects remain at large Friday and the FBI has warned that they should be considered armed and dangerous.

One suspect was described as a light-complected black male in his late teens. He was about five feet eight inches to five feet nine inches tall.

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