Kidnapping expert in peril

Betty McMahon January 07, 2009

Anti-kidnapping expert Felix Batista has helped countless kidnap victims' families negotiate the release of kidnapping victims throughout Latin America. But he appears helpless to shed any light on one of the latest kidnappings in Mexico – his own.

The American security consultant had gone to Saltillo, Mexico to participate in a seminar about kidnappings. He was dining in a restaurant on December 10, when he received a phone call. He left the restaurant, got into a vehicle, and has not been heard from since.

On Wednesday, his wife of 31 years went public, pleading for his return. "Please let him go. Let him return to his family," she said at a news conference in Miami, Florida.

A long month after his disappearance, the family has heard nothing from him or his kidnappers. No one has demanded ransom. No one has made any contact.

"Words do not describe the pain that we are going through by not knowing where he is or what has happened to him," his sister, Jackie Batista said. The family is dealing with a "pain you do not bestow upon anyone not even our worst enemies." The Batistas have five children.

The circumstances of the kidnapping and the time that has elapsed do not bode well for Batista's safety. "The fact that he was purposely picked up and they haven't reached out to family is certainly worrisome," according to Gary Noesner, a security and kidnapping consultant who once worked for the FBI. "Typically, you would get contact sooner, but sometimes kidnappers wait a period of time. They use that as a pressure tactic," Noesner added. "I would have thought they would have had contact by now."

The Mexican government's plan to combat the alarming rise in kidnappings includes building special prisons for kidnappers, and reinstating the death penalty for kidnappers who kill their captives.