VIDEO Vi Ripken Kidnapper Still At Large; Cal Ripken Jr. Ups Reward For Capture, Conviction
Around the one-year anniversary of his mother’s kidnapping, baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. upped the reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the man responsible on Thursday morning.
Last summer, Violet Ripken was removed at gunpoint from her home in Aberdeen, Maryland, and the suspect drove around in the 75-year-old’s car for hours before returning Ripken and her vehicle less than a mile from her home, according to the Baltimore Sun. Ripken was not harmed during the ordeal.
“After talking as a family and with members of law enforcement and friends, we decided that we would try to reignite interest in the case by putting up a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the man who abducted Mom a little over a year ago,” Ripken Jr. said during a press conference at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, according to The Sun.
“In our minds this is important not only for us and our community, but for all communities. We would like to get closure on this case, and give all of us some peace of mind,” he said.
The reward was originally set at $2,000, and Violet Ripken told the Sun last week that she wanted to face the incident head on.
"I didn't want to go and hide," Ripken said. "I felt like if I keep away from things, it's not going to be very fun for me. I just had to face it."
No motive has been uncovered, but Aberdeen Police were able to obtain an image of the middle-aged man and shared it with the media. However, there have been no arrests or further leads.
The video shows Ripken’s announcement, and “America’s Most Wanted” founder John Walsh, saying the information would be on the frontpage of his organization's website.
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