British intelligence services were today said to be assisting Ecuadorian police hunting millionaire British businessman Colin Armstrong and his kidnappers as fears for his safety continued to grow.
Cesar Zapata, appointed as general commander of the country’s National Police force earlier this year by former President Guillermo Lasso, has reportedly taken personal charge of the high-level probe along with a specialist anti-kidnap and extortion unit called UNASE.
Mr Armstrong’s glamorous partner is being quizzed by detectives after being rescued in a secret operation authorities in Ecuador have kept a lid on, unconfirmed local reports say.
And the pretty brunette, named locally as Katherine Paola Santos, became the focus overnight of shocking claims made by a veteran Ecuadorian lawyer and former MP amid police silence on the progress of their ongoing investigation.
The Colombian-born beauty was abducted along with 78-year-old former honorary consul Mr Armstrong at his ranch home on Saturday.
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together in Jamaica
Mr Armstrong headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and has been honoured by the late Queen for his services to his country
Mr Armstrong was Britain’s former honorary consul in the city of Guayaquil until his son Nick took over in 2016.
As well as founding and owning a large agricultural supply company in the South American country, he is a director along with his son of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in North Yorkshire which has been the family home for more than 45 years.
Ecuador’s National Police have so far made only one official comment on the kidnap, which happened around 2.45am local time on Saturday at the British businessman’s ranch called Rancho Rodeo Grande near the town of Baba in Los Rios province, two hours drive north of Guayaquil.
In a tweet on Saturday, the force said: ‘Following an apparent criminal act against a businessman in the early hours of this morning in Los Rios, specialist police units are carrying out operative and investigative work on the ground.’
Mr Colin, as he was known affectionately by staff at the ranch, is understood to have been kidnapped in an operation involving more than 15 gangsters and forcibly bundled into a black BMW he owned with his partner which was later found abandoned near the scene.
There has been no official comment about video footage that has emerged on social media purporting to show the woman identified as Katherine Paola Santos having an explosives vest removed by police experts on Saturday afternoon at a property on a private gated estate in Samborondon near Guayaquil said to belong to a relative of Mr Armstrong.
The couple appear together on a safari holiday in this picture before their reported abduction
The town north of Guayaquil is the same locality where former MP Ricardo Vanegas’ office is based.
Last night it was reported Nick Armstrong, who helps run the family estate in North Yorkshire, had flown to Ecuador to help police locate his father.
Colin’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns, an estate agent based in California, told : ‘This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back.’
Mr Armstrong, who is thought to have previously been married to an Ecuadorian woman, has had a long association with the South America country. He founded Agripac in 1972.
His adopted son Leo Morris helps run a restaurant at the family’s Yorkshire estate.
The estate now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors a year to an attraction known as the Forgotten Corner which was originally built as a private folly.
Mr Armstrong was awarded an OBE and CMG by the late Queen in 2011.
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together
Colin’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns, an estate agent based in California, (pictured) told : ’This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back.’
Footage showing the aftermath of the kidnap was posted online shortly after it happened.
A woman thought to be a member of staff filming inside the ranch took close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man who appeared to be holding a bandage to his head.
She then walked into one of the bedrooms where there was blood over the bed and said as she focused in on the stained sheets: ‘This is where they hit him. My God what is this!!!’
Pictures on TikTok show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle prior to their kidnapping on Saturday
The unidentified woman appeared to be referring to the man she had previously filmed sitting on the stairs nursing what looked to be a head wound.
The British businessman and his companion were pictured enjoying a jet-set lifestyle together prior to their kidnapping.
The images, posted as a montage by a local news organisation on TikTok, showed them on board a cruise ship and beneath the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.
There are also images of the smiling couple on horseback and posing in front of Egyptian pyramids.
There have been no reports yet any ransom demand has been made.