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11 months ago
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The son of a millionaire British businessman and former honorary consul abducted by gangsters in Ecuador has flown to central America to help track him down.
Colin Armstong, 78, was snatched by a gang from the luxury home he shares with his glamorous Colombian girlfriend Katherine Paola Santos, on Saturday.
His son Nick Armstrong, who helps run the family estate in North Yorkshire, has dashed to Ecuador to help police locate his father who has not been seen or heard from since his abduction.
Father and son are directors of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in north Yorkshire, which has been the family home for more than 45 years.
On Monday there was no answer at the house Colin has there and at a nearby cottage where Nick – a director of nearby Ripon racecourse - lives.
Colin’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns, an estate agent based in California, (pictured) told MailOnline: ’This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back.’
The couple appear together on a safari holiday in this picture before their reported abduction
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together in Jamaica
Mr Armstrong headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and has been honoured by the late Queen for his services to his country
A source said: 'Nick is abroad dealing with what is going on. We don’t know much more about it than we’ve seen.’
Meanwhile Colin’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns, an estate agent based in California, told MailOnline: ’This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back.’
When asked if her brother was heading to Ecuador she said: 'I really can’t say anything else, we’ve been told not to speak to anyone.’
Nick is believed to have an extensive network of contacts in Ecuador and will use them to try and help secure the release of his after.
The wealthy businessman was snatched by up to 15 masked men reportedly disguised as police officers before being driven away in their black BMW which was later found abandoned by the roadside.
Mr Armstrong, who headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil, is pictured on a safari before his abduction
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together
Pictures on TikTok show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle prior to their kidnapping on Saturday
Local cops confirmed Mr Armstrong had been kidnapped, which comes amid a sharp rise in drug-related violence in parts of Ecuador.
Chilling footage posted online show the abductors left a blood-stained trail behind after ransacking Mr Armstrong's remote ranch in the province of Los Rios.
It has not been reported that a ransom has been demanded and Mr Armstrong's fate remains unknown.
Mr Armstrong headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and has been honoured by the late Queen for his services to his country.
Video reportedly taken inside the property known as Rancho Rodeo Grande shows the aftermath of the attack.
The kidnap is said to have happened in the early hours on Saturday morning.
A bomb threat reportedly linked to the kidnapping was later reported nearby.
A message from the police on X, the former Twitter, said officers were carrying out 'operational and investigative work' in connection with the case.
Pictures on TikTok show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle prior to their kidnapping on Saturday
British businessman Colin Armstrong and his girlfriend are pictured together before their reported kidnapped from their home in Ecuador
There are also images of the smiling couple on horseback and posing in front of Egyptian pyramids (pictured)
Mr Armstrong owns the 500 acre Tupgill Park Estate in North Yorkshire, which was his childhood home.
The estate now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors a year to an attraction known as the Forgotten Corner which was originally built as a private folly.
Mr Armstrong - who is thought to have previously been married to an Ecuadorian woman - has had a long association with the South America country where he owns Agripac, a large agricultural supply company which he founded in 1972.
His adopted son Leo Morris helps run a restaurant at the family's Yorkshire estate.
Mr Armstrong was awarded an OBE and CMG by the late Queen in 2011.
Footage purporting to show the aftermath of the kidnap went online shortly after it happened.
Pictures on TikTok show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle prior to their kidnapping on Saturday
A woman filming inside the ranch took close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man holding his head.
She then walked into one of the bedrooms where there was blood on the bedsheets and the floor.
As she focused in on the stained sheets, she is reported to have said: 'This is where they hit him. My God what is this!'
The honorary consul's car, a black BMW the kidnap victims are said to have been driven away in, has reportedly been found abandoned on the road between Baba and the nearby town of Salitre.
The kidnap is understood to have happened around 2.45am local time on Saturday morning at Mr Armstrong's ranch called Rancho Rodeo Grande.
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