Monday November 26, 2007

It happened in Fairfax County last Tuesday, but police just released details on Monday.

They say two Charlottesville men grabbed a 20-year-old man off a street corner in Tysons Corner and tried to collect $500,000 for his ransom.

Nineteen-year-olds Guan Yu Lu and Bai Chuan Shu, both engineering students at UVa., are charged with abduction with attempt to extort money.

The victim is from China and was staying with a host family in McLean. The UVa. students allegedly held him in a Falls Church motel for almost 24 hours before he was rescued. Police believe the victim was lured from his home by a phone call from an acquaintance claiming car trouble. He went to help and that's when he was allegedly abducted by the two Charlottesville men. The victim claims they were armed and wearing masks.

Police say the case broke after the victim was allowed to call his host family and explain that he was being held for ransom. They're crediting the family for quickly alerting them, as they were able to track the victim to the motel.

No word as of Monday night on the victim's condition, but both Lu and Shu were in jail.