Couple held for kidnapping

2008-12-02 23:16

San Francisco - A couple faces torture, kidnapping and child abuse charges after a bruised 17-year-old boy showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, claiming he had just fled his captors, authorities said on Tuesday.

Investigators arrested Kelly Lau Schumacher, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, late Monday, said Matt Robinson, a Tracy police spokesperson.

The couple were taken into custody for questioning earlier in the day at the home in Tracy, where the boy was allegedly held against his will.

A midnight search of the home turned up further evidence implicating the couple, Robinson said. Tracy is about 100km east of San Francisco.

Police were also searching for a third suspect but wouldn't release any details.

Michael Schumacher was being held on Tuesday at San Joaquin County Jail on bail of nearly $1.2m. His wife was still being questioned by police.

The boy was taken to a hospital after turning up half-naked and emaciated at the gym on Monday afternoon. It's not clear how he ended up in Tracy; the boy ran away last year from a foster home in Sacramento, about 115km north of Tracy, authorities said.

"The wounds he had and his physical condition as well as having a chain around his leg corroborated his basic statement that he was being held against his will," Robinson said on Monday.

Chuck Ellis, a manager of the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy, said the boy came into the fitness centre on Monday afternoon wearing only boxer briefs, covered with what appeared to be soot.

He had cuts on his arm and back and dry blood on his body, Ellis said.

Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden.

"He said, 'Don't let them get me, don't let them get me'," Ellis said, adding that boy looked like he was between 10 and 12 years old. "He was totally terrified."

Ellis said the teenager told him he was picked up after running away from the foster home to look for his family. The teen said he was held for almost a year, according to Ellis.

The boy was confused when first approached by detectives, unsure where he had come from and how long he was being held captive, Robinson said. The home where the couple being questioned were taken into custody was close to the fitness centre, he said.

- AP