New York-based model, husband and child reportedly kidnapped and held

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A New York-based model who was born in Brazil was taken hostage alongside members of her own family during a visit to her home country.

Luciana Curtis, her photographer husband Henrique Gendre, and their 11-year-old child were leaving a restaurant in Sao Paulo’s wealthy Alto do Lapa neighborhood when they were confronted by armed gang members. The men then allegedly forced the family into their own vehicle, where they were driven to a shack somewhere in Brasilandia. At that point, they were held hostage overnight.

The gang members eventually freed the family early Thursday morning after transferring from the victims’ bank accounts to their own. The police were already looking for the family, meanwhile, as the couple’s oldest child had alerted relatives when they hadn’t returned home from their evening out. The child hadn’t gone with Curtis and Gendre to the restaurant.

“During the search by specialist police teams, the gang abandoned the family and fled,” police said.

After being released, the couple tried to flag down some locals in search of help. What happened after that is not clear, but a spokesperson for Curtis released a statement on the family’s current condition, “The family has been released and they are safe and well.”

Curtis, who was born in Sao Paulo, reportedly lives in New York but also spends significant time in Brazil and London. She is the daughter of businessman Malcolm Leo Curtis, though it is unknown if this information was a motivating factor behind the kidnapping.