Baltimore Orioles legend and MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. announced today that the reward for anyone leading to the capture of his mother's kidnapper last summer is now up to $100,000.
Vi Ripken was abducted last summer at gunpoint in Aberdeen by a middle-aged man who has yet to be identified. According to reports, the kidnapper drove around with Vi Ripken in her car for hours, before eventually ditching the car and his victim less than a mile away from her Maryland home.
Surveillance footage gave police an image of the man to work with, but he has yet to be found. Since then, Vi Ripken told The Baltimore Sun she has struggled with balancing her fear and living a normal life.
"I didn't want to go and hide," Ripken said during a game at the Aberdeen IronBirds' stadium that bears her family's name. "I felt like if I keep away from things, it's not going to be very fun for me. I just had to face it."
Speaking in front of media, Cal Ripken Jr. said that he hopes the vast increase in reward money will generate quicker results.
''I think in some ways maybe this should've happened earlier,'' Ripken said. ''I think in the beginning ... we were all hopeful that (an arrest) would happen pretty quickly and we were all encouraged. But, you know, it is what it is.''
The Ripken family has partnered with John Walsh of America's Most Wanted, who pledged to plaster the Ripken case on the front page of his website. Walsh thinks the reward money won't be as large an incentive to average citizens as it will be to members of the criminal community with deeper knowledge of street crime.
''The average citizen . they're not looking for the rewards,'' Walsh said. ''But in the criminal community, amongst the lowlifes who populate this country, 100 grand is a lot of money.''
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.