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ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/26 July) – Five gunmen believed to be members of a kidnap-for-ransom-group snatched the nine-year-old daughter of a businessman on Friday in Olutanga, Zamboanga Sibugay, the military said.
Capt. Franco Suelto, 1st Infantry Division public affairs officer-in-charge, said the victim, Princess Jewel Mariel Nique, was seized around 4:20 p.m. in Barangay Solar, Olutanga.
Suelto said Nique is the daughter James Nique, Jr., one of the known businessmen in Olutanga.
Suelto said the victim was seized by three of the five gunmen who barged into the Nique family-owned eatery while the other two gunmen waited on their motorized banca.
The Army official said the gunmen, two of them armed with M-16 Armalite rifles, are believed to be residents of Barangay Taguisian, Mabuhay town.
He said the gunmen forced the victim to board the motorized banca and sped to the high seas.
He said troops from the 44th Infantry Battalion pursued the suspects but lost track of them.
He said the military in coordination with Olutanga police were trying to trace the victim’s whereabouts while all militia detachments in coastal areas were alerted. (MindaNews)