The local authorities have found aspiring candidate José Gregorio Botello Ortega in Colombia’s northeast two days after his disappearance, the Mira party’s Campaign manager Samir Bedoya confirmed on Thursday.
The candidate for the House of Representatives, who had disappeared under “strange circumstances” on Wednesday night from his home in the northeast of the country, appeared on Thursday night in a house on the Puerto Santander route, Caracol Radio reported.
“We are very happy to have our candidate safe and sound and now recovering from the ordeal. We now wait for the outcome of the investigation by the authorities to see who was behind the kidnapping,” Mr Bedoya told Colombia Reports.
The Mira party has yet to release an official statement.
MORE: Congress candidate kidnapped in northeast Colombia: Party
Commander of the National Police kidnapping and extortion unit General Humberto Guatibonza told Caracol radio that a campesino – or local farmer – in the area had alerted the authorities on the candidate’s whereabouts.
The officials located the candidate, who was immediately transferred to a medical center where he is being evaluated to determine their health status.
“Once found, the candidate stated that, in a moment of carelessness by his kidnappers, he managed to escape captivity when they were attempting to move him,” General Guatibonza said.
The case of the kidnapping has drawn much attention the past couple of days as authorities questioned the events leading up to the disappearance.
Meanwhile local authorities continue to investigate the case and are questioning the Campesino to establish how the candidate arrived at the location.
MORE: Kidnapped Congress candidate lacked safety guarantees: Campaign Manager
Sources
- Interview with Samir Bedoya (MIRA National Campaign Manager)
- Reaparece candidato del Mira en Norte de Santander (Caracol Radio)