Wilson Ramos Kidnapped: Major Investigation Launched

Wilson Ramos Kidnapped: Major Investigation Launched

By KEVIN DOLAK and CHRISTINA CARON

Wilson Ramos's family is waiting to hear from the kidnappers who abducted the Washington National's catcher while police in Venezuela have mounted an urgent nationwide search for the ballplayer.

Police say they believe that Ramos is still alive, even though there has been little trace of him since he was kidnapped Wednesday. On Thursday police said that they found the SUV used by four armed men used to abduct Ramos in Santa Ines, in central Carabobo.

Ramos, 24, was kidnapped at gunpoint in front of his family while visiting his mother's home in Venezuela. An eyewitness to the crime -- whose identity had to be protected -- described the chilling abduction.

"Suddenly and with no warning, I see the SUV stop and they're pointing at them with guns and the only thing they say is not to look at their faces," the witness said.

According to Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami, the vehicle used in the kidnapping was found abandoned in a nearby town. He said that anti-kidnapping units with top-notch investigators have been dispatched to central Carabobo state.

Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals issued a joint statement Thursday stating that the organization's Department of Investigations is "working with the appropriate authorities on this matter."

"This was a targeted kidnapping, so they were aware of where he was. They knew the money he could produce, they probably knew how much baseball players make," Chris Voss former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator, told ABC News.

Ramos is an emerging star with the Washington Nationals, a natural whose fielding and power hitting propelled him into the role of starting catcher in only his rookie season. In 2011 he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games. He also threw out 19 of 67 runners attempting to steal a base, a 28 percent success rate.

Ramos now becomes the highest profile symbol of the growing, and some say epidemic, problem of kidnapping for ransom in Venezuela. Hundreds of such abductions occur each year.

"It's a business, the victim is a commodity," Chris Voss, former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator, told ABC News.

The situation appears to be worsening, especially for Venezuela's wealthy. According to ESPN, since 2004 at least three major league players from Venezuela have had relatives kidnapped. In 2009 the 56-year-old mother of retired player Victor Zambian was rescued after a three-day kidnapping ordeal.