Footballer hides under bed as wife and son, 5, kidnapped in horrifying ordeal (2025)

Ecuadorian footballer Jackson Rodriguez, who plays for Emelec, is desperate to be reunited with his wife and young son after criminals ambushed his home in the middle of the night

A police investigation has been launched in Ecuador after the wife and son of C.S. Emelec defender Jackson Rodriguez were kidnapped. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning at around 2.50am in the city of Guayaquil, according to local police chief Edison Rodriguez.

The 26-year-old full-back is understood to have told the authorities that he hid under his bed when he reportedly heard his front door being broken in by a large sledgehammer. The footballer has also told police that after looking out of a window he noticed the individuals "were traveling in a grey-coloured double-cab pickup truck."

According to police reports, the suspects had initially asked for the whereabouts of Rodriguez upon entering the property before abducting the player's wife and young son. Guayaquil, capital of Guayas province and where the incident took place, has been under a declaration of "internal armed conflict" since January 2024.

It isn't the first time that Mucho Lote 2, the neighbourhood under discussion, has been the scene of a kidnap. On January 6 a violent kidnapping left the local community shellshocked and there has since been videos of attempted kidnappings that have gone viral on social media.

During the incident in January, a shop owner was taken by armed men, who also broke down his door, before later beating him. Local sources claim the victim allegedly paid $10,000 to be released, though the attackers were initially demanding $50,000.

Rodriguez has since told police he had not received any threatening messages prior to the incident. In December, fellow footballer Pedro Perlaza was kidnapped while playing for Liga de Quito and he was rescued by the authorities a few days later.

Defender Rodriguez, 26, has made nine LigaPro Serie A appearances this season for Emelec, who are yet to comment on the events that took place. Back in 2023, Liverpool winger Luis Diaz was reunited with his father Luis Manuel Diaz 12 days after he was kidnapped by the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia.

Diaz's father was released to United Nations and Catholic Church officials and the Reds star missed two matches for Jurgen Klopp's side during the horrifying ordeal. The far-left guerrilla group had also kidnapped Diaz Sr's wife Cilenis Marulanda but she was quickly released, however, amateur football coach Diaz was taken into a nearby mountain range where he was held at gunpoint.

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