Disappearing travelers

This article is not a review of a destination that has lost track of its core marketing strategies or a switch of consumer loyalty from one resort to another.

This article is not a review of a destination that has lost track of its core marketing strategies or a switch of consumer loyalty from one resort to another. This is a look at the disappearance of people through kidnapping or abduction. Compared with other crimes of violence, little attention is given to this subject and public opinion is shaped by the media.

According to Harding of Travel Assist, โ€œToday tourism is growing 20 percent faster than the global economy and tourists are the main target for abduction.โ€ She also finds that โ€œthe kidnappers seem to be getting the better end of the bargain,โ€ for in โ€œsome countries only 10-30 percentage of kidnappings are reported, and the pay off for the bad guys is hundreds of millions of dollars every year!โ€

Itโ€™s a Kidnapping
The motivation for a kidnapping may be personal, political or economic. Regardless of the inspiration, whenever a person is taken or detained against his/her will, including hostage situations, whether or not the victim is moved, the action is considered a kidnapping. Extortion includes threats of abduction, bodily harm, or property damage such as the introduction of computer viruses, the disclosure of proprietary information, or product tampering. Wrongful or malicious detention are arbitrary acts of involuntary confinement of a person by an agent (or a person purporting to be an agent) of any government entity, insurgent party, organization or group. Hijackings occur when a person is illegally held under duress while traveling on any aircraft, motor vehicle or waterborne vessel.

At Risk
Business executives, high net worth individuals and children who are in the center of parental disputes are targets for kidnappers.

Take a deep cleansing breath and hold it for a moment. During this brief 40-second interlude, a child has been abducted or reported missing in the USA. Do the math. This translates to over 2,000 children per day (under the age of 18) or 800,000+ per year being taken against their will. Of the children reported missing annually, 49 percent of the kidnappings are done by family members, 27 percent by acquaintances, and 24 percent by strangers.

Kidnap for Ransom
According to AIGโ€™s Crisis Management Division in Philadelphia, there are over 20,000 reported Kidnap-for-Ransom incidents annually, with 48 percent occurring in Latin America. The word โ€œreportedโ€ is deceiving as it is believed that less than 20 percent of kidnap cases are officially documented and the actual number of kidnappings range between 5-6 times the reported numbers, bringing the number of Kidnap for Ransom close to 100,000 cases per year. The low reporting may be a result of distrust or lack of participation by local law enforcement.

Instigators
Very often, family kidnappings are arranged by women ((43 percent), while juveniles mastermind acquaintance kidnappings with teen age females as victims. When the kidnappings are orchestrated by strangers, the victims are more than likely to be women (including teenagers and school-age children), the events occur out-of-doors, and include a sexual assault with a weapon.

The reality that women have a high profile as kidnappers challenge the advice of parents to their children and loved ones that states: โ€œlook for a woman if you get lost.โ€ Of course, this begs the question: what is a viable alternative? Perhaps the best advice is provided by a member of the Clayton International, a global security organization. It says: โ€œKeep your children close. Always be aware of the location of the people in your group and provide locally accessible contact information securely tucked into pockets and backpacks.โ€ It is advisable to keep in contact with store or hotel employees who are actually in a position to make a telephone call or contact a member of law enforcement or local security.

Kidnapping Capitals
A large number of kidnappings take place in Turkey, although Columbia, the former USSR, the Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria, Ecuador and Brazil are key locales for this criminal activity. Growing in popularity are the business destinations of South Africa, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. It has been noted that there is an increase in kidnapping incidences in India with the government recognizing 700 active โ€œKidnap for Ransomโ€ gangs operating in the country. London has seen an uptick in kidnapping cases and the Metropolitan Police Force (MPF) has the only kidnap unit in the United Kingdom. The MPF team has rescued many, but it finds it difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice because the victims are too frightened to testify. In the US, the kidnapping capitals include Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota.

The Caribbean region is very active in kidnappings. In the first four months of 2003, Guyana, with a population of 700,000 experienced 20 incidents, while Trinidad and Tobago, with a population of 1.5 million, reported 65 abductions with $3.3 million in ransom demanded and $1+ million actually paid.

Sanders (2003), published a research on โ€œCrime in the Caribbean: An Overwhelming Phenomenon,โ€ wherein it was found that in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, kidnapping is part of the criminal landscape and a Caribbean criminologist described the activities as an โ€œindustry.โ€ According to Sanders, anecdotal evidence that kidnapping activities have negatively impacted on the tourism industry as well as the social life of people living in the country. Local citizens are not going to restaurants or public areas for fear of being kidnapped.

Paul Viollis, chief executive of Risk Control Strategies, a consulting and crisis-management concern notes that kidnapperโ€™s favorite targets are college students on spring break. “They’ll demand the parents wire $10,000 or $20,000 to a Caymans account. For the kidnappers, it is minimum risk and maximum reward.โ€

Activity by Type
The currently popular form of kidnapping is the โ€œexpressโ€ or โ€œlightningโ€ approach that occurs in areas considered โ€œsafe.โ€ The individual is hijacked or kidnapped for a short time, just long enough to make one or several maximum withdrawals from ATM machines.

During โ€œTiger kidnappings,โ€ a hostage is taken with the intention of forcing an employee, relative or someone else to facilitate the immediate theft of a valuable or to agree to some other form of ransom from an institution or business organization. Some kidnappings are faked or the โ€œhostageโ€ is threatened with the kidnapping of a loved one. In any case, the psychological and financial impact is likely to be considerable.

Statistically Desolate
Kidnapping activities require a high degree of planning, are difficult for law enforcement to prosecute and may go unreported for fear of public relations repercussions. The absence of solid information on kidnapping is exacerbated by the absence of reliable statistics about the crime. Unfortunately kidnapping is not one of the crimes included in the Federal Bureau of Investigationโ€™s national system called Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and, individual states or other jurisdictions have rarely made any independent tally of kidnapping statistics. As a result, a national picture or a large data set about the crime from the law enforcement perspective has been unavailable.

Expense
According to Castle Rock Global Insurance, the average ransom paid out per kidnap case was $62,071.83 (2005). However, this does not include related expenditures that range from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars. In a case that occurred in Ecuador, the kidnappers demanded an โ€œallegedโ€ $13 million in ransom for the release of seven Western oil executives working for a US organization. Other expenditures linked with the kidnap included security consultants, medical, travel, legal and accommodation fees, plus the incredible psychological impact on the individual.

No One Is Safe
The insurance industry has developed a specialty product designed to pay associated expenses for investigations, recovery, rewards, public relations campaigns, legal and medical assistance, and ransom. The product was initiated in 1932 by Lloyds of London shortly after the kidnapping of the 20- month old baby of aviator Charles Lindbergh. A ransom was paid before the baby, Charles Lindbergh Junior, was found dead 73 days after the kidnapping took place.

When first introduced, the Kidnap and Ransom (K&R) insurance was purchased primarily by wealthy families and companies doing business overseas in dangerous places. Today it is bought for a much wider variety of purposes and the range of coverage can be very broad. The policies cover businesses of any size, operating in various markets and offering diverse products or services. No amount of insurance can lessen the psychological and emotional impacts experienced from living through a kidnap experience although the insurance policy (providing access to security consultants who are able to provide information, investigation, and negotiation skills) helps to mitigate the horrific experience.

The limits of financial protection in a typical K&R policy averages $25 million, although some companies put together $100 million in coverage by stacking the limits of different insurance providers.

Sample coverage provisions include direct loss from kidnap, ransom, extortion; used to pay ransom (money, securities, tangible property); expenses covered resulting from kidnap, ransom, extortion: private investigator, security firm and public relations; detention or highjack expenses; and loss of property in transit for delivery of ransom or extortion.

If it Happens
If kidnapped, remain calm and follow directions. It is also helps to โ€œcome across as a decent human being.โ€ Also give the kidnappers a local contact number, but never try to negotiate for the victim is always at a disadvantage. Do not attempt to escape and donโ€™t expect to be rescued. These situations only happen in the movies.

In order for the FBI to get involved in the kidnapping of children, the child must have been unlawfully seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted or carried away without his/her consent, held for ransom or reward, and transported in interstate or foreign commerce. The FBI has no police powers which limits jurisdiction. Only 10 to 14 percent of missing children are entered into the National Crime Information Centerโ€™s missing personโ€™s file.

Avoid the Problem
Steer clear of becoming a victim: be inconspicuous, unpredictable and anonymous. Walk through airports without attracting attention and donโ€™t flash money or jewels. Use common sense. If you see a conflict, head towards the other direction; dress down for business meetings. And, donโ€™t wear expensive suits or carry high-end luggage or anything with the name of the company or expensive brand on it (i.e., briefcase, overnight bag). Stay out of the cars of high-profile joint-venture partners because kidnappers may be watching. Change habits, go to work using different routes, travel by bus instead of car. Keep all business and family plans off social networks. There should be no information or query as to where best to scuba dive or bungee jump; use travel agents for this information. Kidnappers monitor social networking sites and use the information to their benefit. In places that are very dangerous, travel with heavily armed professional bodyguards.

Be Cautious, Not Careless
According to experts at Clayton International, travelers are often clueless about the dangers of kidnap for ransom and extortion because the information is not found in the newspapers. The crime is often random, but the location for the activity is likely to be carefully selected. Tourist centers are always popular as are choke areas (where large numbers of people are compressed into a small passageway) such as entrance to soccer matches. Poorly-lighted car parks are also popular locales; however, the incidents can also take place in front of a hotel, in a market place, or walking through a park. The key to staying safe is vigilance.

Stranger Danger
Being wary of strangers is good advice for children and adults. You do not know who you are sitting next to on a plane or who has reserved the cabin next to you on a cruise ship. Kidnappers are sophisticated and are likely to be guests at the same resort or sailing on the same yacht as you are. Donโ€™t share holiday or business plans with the man or woman sitting next to you. If you want to see them for lunch or dinner, call themโ€ฆdonโ€™t have them call you. Take their business card and do a Google search before inviting them to a public location โ€“it should never be your hotel or your office! Avoid eating or drinking anything offered by a stranger. If you want a drink or snack, buy it yourself from the airline, vending machine, cafeteria or hotel restaurant.

Always call a trusted contact when arriving and leaving a hotel or meeting. It is also helpful to alert hotel security of travel plans and the time line for returning to the hotel. Tell the person where you are going, how long you plan to be there, who you are going with, and provide a telephone number. Immediately upon return, let the contact (s) know that you are back in your hotel room.

Be part of a group. Predators search for isolated targets. If you see a friend or colleague walking alone suggest that you and your friends walk with them to the meeting or restaurant. Donโ€™t meet or rendezvous with strangers in hotel rooms. Interviews, meetings, dinners โ€“ all should take place in public places. Heading for a strangerโ€™s hotel room, or getting into the car of the hotel employee can be an invitation to a disaster.

Travel Away
With travel wisdom, an awareness of surroundings, and a carefully balanced optimistic attitude, the travel experience should evolve without incident. Disasters and tragedies occur when people loose track of where they are and what they are doing. As soon as travelers accept the fact that Disney is an illusion, and the world requires constant monitoring, the only regret will be missing a great sale at the local market.

The Checklist:
If you know someone who has been kidnapped in a foreign country, immediately contact the US Embassy, the FBI and the K&R insurance broker.
Keep a detailed record (name, time, phone number) of everyone.
Contact family and business associates to see if they have heard from the missing person.
If the missing person is under 18 or over 65 with a physical or mental illness, include this information in the missing persons report.
Place photos and descriptions on websites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) and posters.
Take an inventory of what is missing (i.e. cell phone, car keys, and passport).
If the cell phone or house phone is available, check for most recent call numbers.
Check hotel surveillance cameras.
Check activity on credit/debit cards and checking accounts.
Ask local media for coverage.
Do Not Wait to inform the US Consulate and the FBI.
Do not keep the disappearance a secret. The more people are told, the more people will be looking.
Do not disturb the hotel room. Leave everything as it was found. Law enforcement needs to preserve the scene.
Do not put personal information on posters or share with the media. Use police or hotel security numbers.
Do not give up. Be persistent.

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Nell Alcantara

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