Parents rescue child kidnapped by Uber driver

A mother and father gave chase after their child was spirited off by the driver of a Uber ride share vehicle in Mexico City on Monday.

The child’s father, Gustavo “E,” 32, was traveling in an Uber with his 7-year-old son in Álvaro Obregón when he asked the driver to stop at a stand selling flowers. Gustavo exited the vehicle to make a purchase, leaving his son in the backseat.

The driver, a 71-year-old Iranian national identified as Mohammad Mohammdi Shir Mahaleh, then drove off with the boy.

The newspaper Milenio reported that Gustavo quickly went to a spa where his wife works and found she was already speaking with the boy on her cellphone, who told her he was near a supermarket in the area.

The couple traveled there together in the mother’s sports utility vehicle and rescued their son, before the driver attempted to escape.

The trio then chased the Uber driver and managed to cut him off on a nearby street by ramming his vehicle and forcing it onto the sidewalk, where he was arrested by police.

There were 21,931 criminal cases related to kidnapping in 2021, of which 2,027, or 9%, were in Mexico City.

The crime has been of increasing concern for citizens in the capital: in 2015 there were only 742 cases reported, 63% fewer than in 2021. The worst year on record for crimes related to kidnapping was 2019, when 2,443 crimes were registered.

With reports from El Universal, Milenio and Sopitas  

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
An Ancient aqueduct Queretaro, Mexico. 2023

Innovation and clean government push Querétaro to top of IMCO’s 2026 Urban Competitiveness Index

1
Querétaro, Puerto Vallarta, La Paz and Delicias are Mexico's most competitive cities, according to the 2026 Urban Competitiveness Index (ICU), which ranks metropolitan areas on their capacity to generate, attract and retain talent and investment.
Tlallipan FLoating Garden

An oasis for pedestrians — in the form of a verdant elevated walkway — is inaugurated in Mexico City

3
The elevated walkway, with 10,000 plants and trees, converts one of the capital's most congested areas into a pleasant diversion for residents and visitors.
capybaras

Wild picks: Elephants, pumas and gorillas make World Cup predictions at Guadalajara Zoo

0
The animals picked winners — mostly for the four matches scheduled at Guadalajara Stadium — by choosing between food, shirts, boxes and soccer balls linked to the different teams.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity