Boy, 4, rescued from kidnapper in Baguio City

La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines – Police rescued a four-year-old boy when the woman who allegedly kidnapped him was arrested while she was withdrawing the ransom money at a mall here Wednesday afternoon.

Lovelle Tobias Vernes, 30, a resident of Bintawan, Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya was caught at the Center Mall at around 2:45 p.m. by intelligence operatives of the Baguio City police, agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Anti-Kidnapping Group of the Philippine National Police, and Nueva Vizcaya policemen. 

Vernes allegedly snatched Shenard Jan Jhayril Siazon in Sta. Rosa, Bayombong town on Sunday and asked for an undisclosed amount from his mother, Sheryl Apostol Siazon, 36, an employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. 

Police learned that the suspect has a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Rose Mary Molina Alim of Baguio City Regional Trial Court Branch 7 for illegal recruitment.

Chief Inspector Wilfredo Velayo Jr. said they marked out the location of the suspect after she withdrew the initial P10,000 ransom, which the victim’s mother deposited through a courier service on Tuesday.

When Vernes asked for an additional P100,000 on Wednesday, Siazon deposited only P2,000, and asked the  suspect to give her time to produce the amount within that day.

It was at this juncture that Nueva Vizcaya police, led by Senior Superintendent John Luglug, and CIDG agents deployed their operatives in the courier service to entrap Vernes.

“The suspect will face kidnapping and extortion charges,” Luglug said. – Artemio Dumlao, Victor Martin Jr.