Melissa Duran abducted from home in Henderson, NV

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Aug 31, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Melissa Duran

17 year old Melissa Duran abducted from home in Henderson, NV

Earlier messages started flashing across the television about a child abduction but there were no details provided on the what happened to the 17 year old Melissa Duran abducted from home in Henderson, NV.

Apparently earlier today, there was knock on the door at approximately 7:30 am this morning at the family home located near Warm Springs Road and Arroyo Grande Boulevard in Henderson, NV.

When Duran opened the door, two men allegedly snatched her and later called Melissa Duran’s mother with a ransom demand.

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The Las Vegas Review Journal (LVRJ) says that they were told by a family acquaintance that the ransom demand was for $150,000.

Car involved in abduction of Mellisa Duran (photo: neighbors surveillance photo via 8 News now)

Surveillance from a neighbors home had footage of the car believed to be involved of the allegedly abduction – a late-model, two-door red sedan with a blue fender on the front passenger side,

It is not known why the Duran family has been targeted.

Kidnappings for ransom has been a common theme in Latin America for years, particularly Columbia where it was almost commonplace for guerrilla groups to finance their drug operations from the ransom the kidnappers received.

In more recent years, Mexico seems unable to control the number of abductions for ransom.

The Washington Post reports that The U.S.-based companies that specialize in resolving kidnappings now handle far more cases in Mexico than anywhere else in the world and fortunately the companies claim near-perfect victim recovery rates, using former FBI and CIA agents as consultants and charging clients thousands of dollars a day for their services.

In the US, we just do not seem to hear about kidnappings for ransom, they appear to be such a rare occurrence.

Anyone with any information should contact the Henderson police department 267-4913 or contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or visit www.crimestoppersofnv.com if you wish to remain anonymous.