Takoradi again! Suspected kidnapper demands ransom for missing pregnant woman

A group of suspected abductors have requested ransom before releasing a nine-month pregnant woman at Takoradi, brother-in-law of the missing woman has revealed.

Emmanuel Ackoh said Josephine Panyin Mensah, 28, has not been found since she left home for a dawn walk on Thursday, September 16.

However, after frantic efforts to locate the woman, a mysterious person called to demand money before the family would see their daughter again.

“We are appealing to the public to help us. She is fair coloured and not too tall… The people that allegedly kidnapped her called her mother around 1:00 pm to tell her that she is with them, so they were asking for a ransom. Since then, we’ve not heard from them again,” Emmanuel appealed to the public.

Josephine, a seamstress at the Market Circle, was last seen at Amoono road towards Paa Grant Roundabout in Takoradi.

The police have already launched an investigation into the matter after the woman’s husband, Michael Simmons, reported that his wife has not returned home for more than a day.

The Western Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olivia Adiku, said they were making efforts and have contacted the right institutions to help trace the woman.

“We have spoken with the husband and gone on the route the wife took. We are trying to get the telcos to give us the location, and they want us to bring a court order, so we are working to get a court order. We are appealing to the public to assist us with any information on the matter,” ASP Olivia Adiku said.

There have been several reported kidnapping cases, with the famous which generated national attention being the Canadian girls in the Ashanti Region and four others in the Western Region.

Though swift action was taken by security forces to rescue the Canadians and reunite them with their families abroad, the Ghanaian girls were later found dead several months.

Kidnappings seem to be rising in recent years, with Takoradi being a hotbed for the crime.

Missing Takoradi girls

Four girls went missing at Takoradi between July and December 2018.

After efforts by the families to locate them, it was discovered that they had been kidnapped.

The victims were Priscilla Blessing Bentum, 21, at Kansaworodo; Ruth Love Quayson, 18; Priscilla Mantebea, 15; and Ruth Abeka, 18.

The accused persons, who demanded ransoms from the victims’ parents, were later arrested in 2019 to assist the police in investigations.

There were various twists and turns to the matter, which dragged on for over a year.

This triggered a national debate with many public protests staged, especially in Takoradi, to demand the return of girls and compel the government to act.

After painstaking investigations, the skeletal remains of the girls were found on 2 August 2019.

DNA samples taken from the families marched that of the girls according to police.

Two Nigerians who had been arrested in connection with the matter were charged with conspiracy and murder.

A seven-member jury found Sam Udeotuk Wills and John Orji guilty on all the eight counts of the charge of conspiracy to murder and murder.

The Sekondi High Court presided over by Justice Richard Agyei Frimpong sentenced the two to death.

Canadian Girls Kidnap

Four accused persons – Sampson Agharlor, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar and Yusif Yakubu – are standing trial for conspiracy charges to kidnap and kidnap.

They have all pleaded not guilty.

The four are being held for their various roles in kidnapping Miss Lauren Patricia Catherine Tiley and Miss Bailey Jordan Chilley.

The two University of New Brunswick students were abducted on June 4, 2019, while volunteering for a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Kumasi.

They were rescued that same month, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

According to police, the two were abducted at the Kumasi Royal Golf Club at about 8:25 pm.

Medical reports confirmed the girls were returned physically unhurt.