Members of the children's football team "Club Deportivo Real Cachorros" were victims of an express kidnapping on federal highway 49, at the border between San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas, after returning from participating in a tournament in Guadalupe, Zacatecas.
According to local reports, the incident took place in Azogueros, San Luis Potosí, where a Van Sprinter-type vehicle, carrying 17 people, was intercepted by armed men. Among the passengers were children and teenagers from the team, a parent, the driver of the vehicle, and two officials from the sports club.
The attackers, in two vehicles, blocked the van: one positioned in front of it and the other stopped it from behind. According to accounts from the victims, the assailants forced the driver away from the steering wheel, moved him to the back of the vehicle, and took control of the Sprinter.
The kidnappers communicated via their radios that there was an ongoing search and police presence in the area, alerted by reports on social media regarding the vehicle's disappearance. In response, they decided to release the passengers and strip them of their belongings such as watches, cell phones, wallets, and cash.
In a statement, the Attorney General's Office of the State of San Luis Potosí (FGESLP) announced that an investigation had been initiated for the presumed non-location of the transport in which the victims were traveling.
"Elements of the Investigation Police (PDI) together with the State Civil Guard, from the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of the State, and the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), carried out search efforts that resulted in locating the mentioned individuals in the state of Aguascalientes, who were safe," said the FGESLP.
Authorities reiterated the importance of immediately reporting the non-location of individuals, reminding that it is not necessary to wait a specific amount of time to file a missing person's report.
