An Ecuadorian soccer player’s wife and 5-year-old child were kidnapped from their home early Wednesday. Citing local police, the Associated Press reports that athlete Jackson Rodríguez hid under a bed when a group of men broke into his family’s home searching for him. Police chief Édison Rodríguez said the kidnappings occurred at around 3 a.m. in the city of Guayaquil. He added that the soccer player, who plays on the Ecuadorian team Emelec, told police in his testimony that he hid under a bed after hearing the house’s front door being broken down. Perpetrators then took Rodríguez’s wife and child after asking if the football player was home. Police reportedly added that Rodríguez saw “the individuals were traveling in a gray-colored double-cab pickup truck” from a window, according to the Associated Press. A state of emergency was declared 10 days ago in the province which Guayaquil belongs to. The measure allows security personnel to mobilize more smoothly across the city to combat organized crime groups, AP adds.
