Charges dismissed temporarily for kidnappers of Abby man
The two men accused of kidnapping an Abbotsford man in June have had charges dismissed by a Marathon County Judge.
Gerardo Hernandez Anselmo, 33, and Felipe Engracia-Gonzalez, 39, were notified on Oct. 3 that class C felony charges of kidnapping/carry without consent were dismissed by the prosecutor. The charges were dismissed without prejudice meaning the charges may be altered or brought back at a different time and court.
According to the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, a 29-year-old man was leaving work at Abbyland Foods on the afternoon of June 9. The surveillance footage from the Abbyland plant showed the man leaving the building at 2:55 p.m. He was then confronted by two individuals who had been sitting in a silver 2015 Cadillac Escalade that was parked next to the man’s vehicle.
“One of the occupants exited the Escalade, quickly walked around the vehicle and approached the missing person,” the press release states. “The missing person was persuaded by threats to enter the Escalade.”
The victim, a 29-year-old male, was first reported missing by his family on June 10 after he did not return home from his job at Abbyland Foods. The victim did not respond to any phone calls or social media messages during this time.
The Escalade in question did not have a front license plate, and the surveillance video was not clear enough to obtain the rear license plate number.
The missing person’s phone was later located in the Highway 29 median near Wausau.
The CAPD requested help from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, and early in the investigation, police identified suspects in Florida. Additional assistance was obtained from the FBI and Osceola County Sheriff’s Department in Florida. A vehicle similar to the suspects’ Escalade was located at an address in Osceola County.
The missing person was located by the FBI and Osceola County deputies at one of the suspect’s addresses, and taken to a safe location.
The motion for dismissal of the case was made by the prosecutor but may yield another bout in court in the future.
