Mounties are investigating a bizarre kidnapping case in northern B.C., and have identified one of the victims as a young man reported missing last month in Metro Vancouver.
The family of 21-year-old Keith Koponyas said he was visiting friends in Langley when he disappeared in late August. On Wednesday, the RCMP confirmed he has been found alive along with two other people who were being held captive at a rural property near Dawson Creek.
The motive for the apparent kidnappings is unclear, but Mounties said they have "no reason to believe there is any risk to the general public."
Authorities were alerted to the crime after two of the captives escaped and called for help. Local RCMP officers along with Emergency Response Team members went to the rural home and managed to find and rescue the third victim.
All three were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Few other details have been released, but Mounties said there were multiple captors involved.
Koponyas, who has no criminal record, was raised in Penticton but had recently been working in Dawson Creek. It’s unclear whether he was taken captive during his visit to Metro Vancouver or somewhere else.
Anyone with information on the apparent kidnappings is asked to call the RCMP at 250-784-3700, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
