Boy, 12, Freed Unharmed After Brief Abduction
- Share via
A 12-year-old West Los Angeles boy was kidnaped from his home Tuesday, held briefly for ransom and then released unharmed in the San Fernando Valley, police said.
Sharyn Michelson, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman, said two men posing as deliverymen forced their way into a home in the 700 block of Warner Drive about 1:45 p.m. They tied up Lowell Shapiro, 12, and his 16-year-old sister, Allison, and then kidnaped Lowell, Michelson said.
Left alone in the house, Allison freed herself and called police. About an hour after the kidnaping, a ransom demand was made for “a substantial amount of money,” Michelson said. Two hours later, that demand was repeated.
But at 8 p.m. the boy was turned loose at an undisclosed location in the Police Department’s Foothill Division. Michelson said Lowell went to a nearby house, told the residents what had happened and called police.
The boy was reunited with his family late Tuesday. Police listed his father’s name as Stanley Shapiro but would not release any further details.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In this episode, we discuss the history here, what lessons were learned — and not — and how that can inform what we we do this time around as we attempt to rebuild Altadena and the Pacific Palisades.
Alexis Linkletter & Madison McGhee unpack the chaotic Justin Baldoni vs. Blake Lively lawsuit, separating fact from fiction, and its career impact.
Sammy Roth visits Ioneer’s proposed Rhyolite Ridge mine in Nevada with managing director Bernard Rowe, who details responsible lithium/boron extraction and Tiehm’s buckwheat protection.
