QUITO – Police in Ecuador reported the rescue of a Costa Rican woman and her Australian husband who were kidnapped last Thursday in the country’s Andes mountains.
The two tourists were abducted in the province of Pichincha and taken to the neighboring Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Ecuavisa television said.
Police arrested two people, one of them with a criminal record for kidnapping last year.
The accused were found in possession of communications equipment and police uniforms, among other items. The kidnappers had demanded a $100,000 ransom.
Kidnappings in Ecuador gained a higher profile after a 2001 story published in Esquire about seven people held hostage in the Ecuadorian jungle for 141 days.