Update: Wilson Ramos is Alive

Unfortunately the kidnapping of Nationals’ catcher Wilson Ramos has continued without much more information becoming available. The little that has been made public is as follows:

• Ramos was allegedly taken in front of his parents’ home by four armed men sometime early Wednesday evening.
• Venezuelan police had been notified by the family of the kidnapping. However, as of Wednesday night neither police nor family had heard from anyone involved.
• Thursday morning, roughly an hour from Ramos’ home a van was found which is believed to have been used in the abduction. Reportedly the family has still not had any contact from the kidnappers.
• Around 12:00 PM EST, Adam Kilgore posted this Tweet. Authorities were able to confirm Ramos was alive.
• Less than an hour later the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball released a joint statement, which reads as follows:

"Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is working with the appropriate authorities on this matter. Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have been instructed to make no further comment."

Various outlets have been continuously updating as information becomes available. The guys over at The Nats Blog have been doing a heck of a job compiling a lot of the links together, including numerous Tweets sent out over the past 24 hours by players around Major League Baseball.

Tonight’s games in the Venezuelan Winter League are being played as scheduled. As far as I can tell there have not been any reports of players from the Nationals or any other team who were instructed to leave the country.

Update, 6:45 PM EST: ESPN.com has an article up with some additional quotes and details they’ve been able to learn about the investigation. It seems as though Ramos’ father and two brothers were outside the house when the vehicle pulled up and the armed men got out.

Melvin Mora, like Ramos a Venzuelan native, proposed that the entire VWL stop playing games “until he appears.” However, the league has decided to continue as scheduled, stating “Turning out the stadium lights isn’t a solution.”

Update, 7:53 PM EST: Additional details have been learned. Apparently Ramos had stopped to sign an autograph for a young boy when the actual abduction took place. The story continues to get more unfortunate.

Update, 11:24 PM EST: Nate over at Puckett’s Pond has a well-thought out piece looking at the tragedy of this whole situation. Ramos, of course, was formerly a member of the Twins so it’s understandable that fans of the team are taking this hard, just like Nationals fans and baseball fans alike are. It’s amazing just how dangerous that country is.

Update, 11:30 PM EST: Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez has reportedly cancelled a planned trip to his home in Venezuela in light of the Ramos kidnapping. This is the first report I’ve seen regarding any players either leaving the country or choosing to avoid it.