abduction

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All Girls From One of Nigeria's Mass Abductions Are Rescued

Two dozen who were taken from a school in Kebbi are now safe

(Newser) - All 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by armed assailants from a school earlier this month in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, the country's president announced Tuesday. Police said 25 girls were abducted in Kebbi on Nov. 17, and one of them escaped afterward . No details were immediately released about...

50 of the Students Abducted in Nigeria Escape
50 Kidnapped Students Escape
Nov 23, 2025 10:22 AM CST

50 Kidnapped Students Escape

Pope calls for release of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers still held after abduction in Nigeria

(Newser) - Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria's Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, bringing relief to some of the distraught families after one of the largest school abductions in Nigeria's history. The...

Gunmen Abduct 200 Children, 12 Teachers at Boarding School

Nigerian state government says it had warned of increased threat

(Newser) - Gunmen attacked a Catholic boarding school in a western region of Nigeria and abducted more than 200 schoolchildren on Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria said, in the latest in a spate of abductions in Africa's most populous country. The attack and abductions took place at St. Mary's...

Gunmen Abduct 25 Girls From School Dorms at 4am

School's principal reportedly killed in Monday's pre-dawn attack in Nigeria

(Newser) - Gunmen attacked a high school in northwestern Nigeria before dawn on Monday and abducted 25 schoolgirls, police said. One staffer at the school was killed and another was wounded in what was the latest incident of school abductions in Nigeria's northern region, per the AP . Reuters reports the school'...

Lawmaker Outs Suspect in 1970 Cheryl Grimmer Case
Lawmaker Outs Suspect in 1970
Case of Missing British Toddler
in case you missed it
Oct 26, 2025 7:01 AM CDT

Lawmaker Outs Suspect in 1970 Case of Missing British Toddler

Brother says police believe man dubbed 'Mercury' assaulted and killed 3-year-old Cheryl Grimmer

(Newser) - More than 50 years after 3-year-old Cheryl Grimmer vanished from an Australian beach, a key person of interest in the case has been named in parliament, reigniting calls for justice in the decades-old mystery, per the BBC . The British toddler disappeared in 1970 from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong, where...

Man Says He Saw Girl Carried Away in 1970
Review Sparks Outrage in
1970 Missing Child Case
UPDATED
Sep 30, 2025 11:05 AM CDT

Review Sparks Outrage in 1970 Missing Child Case

Cheryl Grimmer's brother claims potential witnesses weren't interviewed

(Newser) - The brother of Cheryl Grimmer, a young girl who vanished from an Australian beach in 1970, says he's furious with police for failing to interview witnesses who've gone public in recent years. A four-year review of the 55-year-old cold case has revealed no new information that could lead...

Report: Melania Sent Note to Putin on Abducted Ukrainian Kids

Moscow claims it's trying to protect children in war zones; Ukraine says it's a war crime

(Newser) - At the Alaska summit on Friday between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the former hand-delivered a letter to the latter—not from himself, but from his wife, Melania Trump. The subject of the Slovenia-born first lady's note: the abductions of Ukrainian children caught up in Russia's...

The Ransom Was Paid, but Dozens Died Anyway

Brutal killings in northern Nigeria highlight ongoing issue with 'bandits'

(Newser) - Kidnappers killed 38 villagers abducted from northern Nigeria even after receiving ransom payments for their release, according to local officials. The victims were among 56 people taken from Banga village in the Kauran Namoda area of Zamfara state back in March, with abductors demanding roughly $655 per captive. Local...

DOJ Says LA Woman Invented ICE Abduction

Feds say Yuriana Calderon, 41, made up story of being kidnapped by federal agents to raise money

(Newser) - A Los Angeles woman is being accused by the federal government of staging her own kidnapping and blaming it on ICE to try to profit off her claims. Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, has been charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officials, with a criminal complaint citing...

Cops: FCC Worker Tried to Abduct 2 Women in One Night

Jeff Gary, 35, is now out of a job and facing multiple charges

(Newser) - An assistant division chief at the FCC has been charged with trying to abduct two women on the same night in Virginia. On Friday evening, a woman reported a man approached her outside Alexandria's Braddock Road Metro station around 9:40pm before restraining and assaulting her. "The suspect...

Missing Ukrainian Children a Sore Point in Talks

Moscow denies allegations of mass abductions, while Ukraine estimates 20K children were taken

(Newser) - The peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that resumed on Monday brought attention to a volatile topic: allegations that Russia abducted thousands of Ukrainian children.
  • Ukraine provided a list of about 400 children it wants returned immediately, but Russia countered that it would consider returning 10 children and insisted they
...

Witnesses Stop Kidnapping of Crypto Boss' Family

Masked men flee after struggle with couple on busy Paris street

(Newser) - A kidnapping attempt targeting the daughter and young grandson of a cryptocurrency executive was foiled Tuesday morning in Paris' 11th district. According to police sources and local media, three masked men jumped from a white van around 8:20am and tried to seize the pair, who are reportedly related...

Venezuelan Opposition Chief 'Violently Intercepted': Allies

But Maria Corina Machado says she's now safe after alleged abduction at Caracas protest

(Newser) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attended a protest Thursday in Caracas, a day ahead of the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, but it didn't go seamlessly: Machado's team says the 57-year-old was kidnapped during that demonstration, though she's apparently safe now. The...

He Vanished From Park in 1951 at Age 6. He Just Turned Up

Luis Armando Albino is tracked down by family members from Oakland

(Newser) - An online DNA test and an especially persistent family member have helped solve a missing-persons cold case that's lasted decades. Luis Armando Albino is a grandfather, Marine Corps veteran, and retired firefighter living on the East Coast—and now he can add "found" to that list, after it...

Cops: Kidnapped Man Was Forced to Jump Off Bridge

Badly injured Oklahoma man was bound with duct tape, sheriff's office says

(Newser) - Police in Oklahoma say that when they responded to a call about somebody "jumping into traffic," they found a badly injured man—and determined that it had not been a suicide attempt. "Further investigation revealed the victim in this case had been abducted and forced off the...

Suspect Held in Theft of Dog That Owner Tried to Save

Los Angeles police are still looking for Ali Zacharias' French bulldog

(Newser) - Los Angeles police have made an arrest in the theft of a French bulldog its owner tried to rescue by clinging to the hood of the getaway car. Sadie Slater, 21, of Los Angeles, was booked on suspicion of robbery and jailed Saturday in lieu of $70,000 bail, per...

They Were Stabbed and Left to Die. 50 Years Later, a Suspect

Indianapolis cops say Thomas Edward Williams, attacked 2 sisters, friend in 1975; he has since died

(Newser) - A nearly 50-year-old cold case surrounding three young girls stabbed and left to die in an Indiana cornfield has finally reached a conclusion, although it's one that will end without justice. In a Thursday presser , the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced that DNA evidence was able to help identify...

Russia's Face of Child Rights Is Accused of War Crimes

Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin accused of moving thousands of Ukrainian kids to Russia, per 'NYT'

(Newser) - Millions of Ukrainians have been killed , injured , or displaced since the war Russia started almost two years ago. Then there are "the most forlorn victims of Russia's invasion," per the New York Times : the Ukrainian children "stolen" from their homeland, taken without their or their family'...

Family of Girl Thought Killed by Hamas Now Has Hope

Family told by Israeli officials that Emily Hand, 8, may be alive, being held hostage in Gaza

(Newser) - When Tom Hand first got the news after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that his 8-year-old daughter, Emily, was among those who'd been killed, he said he actually felt relief. "Death was a blessing," the Irish citizen told CNN at the time in an emotional interview...

Man Accused of Abducting Woman Tries to Escape: Cops

Negasi Zuberi, 29, now faces new charges

(Newser) - The man accused of abducting a woman and holding her captive in a makeshift cell apparently doesn't like the view from inside his own jail cell. Negasi Zuberi, 29, who is being held in Oregon's Jackson County Jail on a federal interstate kidnapping charge, now also faces charges...

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