A United States man who was kidnapped from his Quintana Roo home last Sunday was found in a makeshift jungle hut with tape over his eyes and his wrists and ankles bound.
The Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said Tuesday that 35-year-old Jospeh Constantine Buonincontri had been found, but more details about his rescue emerged on Friday.
Buonincontri was found by soldiers, state police and members of the National Guard in a hut in the middle of jungle in the Quintana Roo municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, according to the FGE and reports that cited state authorities.
A photo published by the Reforma newspaper showed him seated on the ground clutching a water bottle. He reportedly didn’t sustain any serious injuries during his three-day ordeal.
Reforma reported that Buonincontri was violently abducted from his home in Limones last Sunday. Located in the municipality of Bacalar, Limones is about 90 kilometers north of Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo, and 50 kilometers north of the town of Bacalar.
On Tuesday, soldiers stationed at a highway checkpoint in southern Quintana Roo were alerted by locals to the presence of armed men in a taxi from Tulum that entered an “opening” in the jungle next to the road, Reforma reported.
Authorities found Buonincontri just 100 meters from the point where the taxi entered the jungle, according to Reforma. By that time, the armed men had apparently left the location.
Buonincontri — who is from New York, according to ABC News — reportedly told authorities that he had been abducted “by unknown people.”
The kidnappers had reportedly sought a US $200,000 ransom. Reforma said that soldiers found traces of marijuana, a tactical vest and AR-15 rifle magazines at the location where Buonincontri was found.
On the day of his abduction, the FGE published an online poster with details on the victim’s physical appearance. Probably the most striking detail was that he was said to be exactly two meters tall. The poster also mentioned that Buonincontri has numerous tattoos, including ones of macaws, an AK-47 and a pit bull.
