Nation : Florida Bank Officer Pays Ransom of $250,000 for Wife and Daughter

The chairman of a local bank paid kidnapers a quarter-million-dollar ransom today to win the freedom of his wife and daughter, bank officials said.

Allan Levan and his family were held hostage in their home overnight, BankAtlantic President Mark Wright said. Levan arrived at the bank shortly after it opened this morning and told Wright the kidnapers were demanding all the cash in the bank, Wright told reporters. Levan delivered the money to a waiting car, and 40 minutes later a phone call directed him to a parked car where his wife and child were locked in the trunk but were unharmed.