Washington Nationals catcher, Wilson Ramos, has been rescued after being kidnapped at gunpoint from his home in Venezuela.
Ramos was rescued late Friday night after police and the kidnappers exchanged heavy fire in the remote mountainous area where he was being held.
The 24-year-old MLB player had returned to his homeland after his rookie year with the Nationals to play for a Venezuelan league during the off-season. He was abducted on Wednesday by four men who drug him from his home at gunpoint into an SUV.
“I didn’t know if I was going to get out of it alive,” Ramos told reporters after the dramatic rescue.
“Thank God, I’m alive and here at home,” Ramos told a crowd gathered outside his mother’s home shortly after his arrival at 3 a.m. “I thank you for everything. I don’t have words to express all that I feel, and how thankful I am for all your help. Thank you, for real. I really love you.”
Four Venezuelan men have been arrested, and authorities are still searching for four Colombian men who escaped during the rescue.