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BREAKING NEWS: Antioch kidnap victim released and is safe, police say
[August 02, 2011]

BREAKING NEWS: Antioch kidnap victim released and is safe, police say


ANTIOCH, Aug 02, 2011 (Contra Costa Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A 16-year-old boy is safe after he was kidnapped Monday afternoon by a shotgun-wielding robber who held up the barbershop where he worked, police said.

Antioch police sent out a news release just after midnight Tuesday saying Hasaan Ameer Ford had been freed by his captor -- who remains at large -- and made contact with family and friends. As of the release, investigators had not yet spoken with Hasaan since he resurfaced roughly eight hours after a statewide Amber Alert was issued for him.

"We are confident he has been released and is no longer under duress," the police statement said. "Based on this latest information, the Amber Alert has been cancelled." Police have also recovered the black 1996 GMC Yukon belonging to the owner of Al's Barber Shop on West 18th and A streets, a vehicle the robber stole and forced Hasaan to drive. The truck was found in Antioch and is being examined for evidence, police said.


Further details about Hasaan's reappearance were not immediately released.

Hasaan was whisked away by a suspect who used a sawed-off shotgun to order the owner of the shop to the floor and take his wallet and keys, police said. When Hasaan, a part-time employee, walked in on the robbery, the suspect turned the gun on him and ordered the teen into the Yukon.

The suspect jumped into the back seat and presumably commanded Hasaan to speed away, Lt. Pat Welch said.

Police have interviewed Hasaan's mother and said there is no reason to believe that the teen knew the suspect. Hasaan, who attends school in East Contra Costa County, was not carrying a cell phone when he was kidnapped.

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous, and is described as a 25-year-old black man standing 5-foot-7, 180 pounds and wearing oversized black jeans, a jean jacket and a blue knit cap with a white stripe.

Anyone with information can call 911 or Antioch police department dispatch at 925-778-2441.

To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

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