An American tourist’s acquaintance with a woman on a social networks ended very tragically for the man. The details of the incident were reported by the portal El Colombiano.
An American tourist of Laotian origin, 50-year-old Tou Ger Xiong, came to the Colombian city of Medellin on vacation. Having arrived at the place, he met a woman on social networks, the correspondence with whom ended with an offer to meet in person. Ger Xiong never returned from this meeting.
According to the man’s friends, he called a friend in America and told him about the upcoming date, and later unknown people began calling him on his phone and demanding a ransom for Ger Xiong for two thousand dollars.
The tourist’s relatives immediately contacted the Colombian authorities. The law enforcement officers threw all their efforts into searching for the foreigner but were too late. The man’s body was found at the bottom of the gorge with multiple bruises and stab wounds.
It was later revealed that Ger Xiong was killed before his ransom was even received. Police believe that the cause of the massacre was the man’s attempt to escape from his kidnappers.
Investigators also found out that after the murder of the American, a certain woman removed all valuables from his apartment. The police continue to search for the criminal group.
Three foreign tourists have been killed in Colombia in the past month alone, according to authorities. All of them are US citizens.
The Medellin district civil affairs office said Tou Ger Xiong’s killing was the 27th death of foreign tourists this year. Causes include murder, suicide, accidents, and death due to drug overdose.
In addition, according to a National Police report, the number of kidnapping complaints in Colombia’s Antioquia has increased by 88 percent this year.