Ex-US service man abducted by robbers

A retired US serviceman was found yesterday by the Marikina City police, hours after he was abducted and robbed by four armed men in Manila.

Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, Marikina City police chief, said Arthur Fern, 60, a native of Texas, was running aimlessly near the Agora complex on Fernando Avenue when spotted by his men at about 4 a.m. yesterday.

Fern sought the help of Gaerlan’s men and narrated his harrowing experience at the hands of the suspects.

Gaerlan said Fern, who had been staying at the Executive Hotel Plaza in Ermita, Manila, was walking along Mabini, when four armed men grabbed him and forced him inside a van at 8:30 p.m.

The suspects blindfolded Fern then divested him of his US passport, digital camera, cellular phone and wallet containing his credit card, identification cards and P11,500 cash.

The suspects drove Fern around Metro Manila for several hours before dumping him in Marikina City after getting the PIN of his credit card.

Gaerlan turned over Fern to the Manila Police District, which has jurisdiction over the case. – Non Alquitran