American model and family ambushed by gunmen in Brazilian restaurant and taken hostage

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A New York-based model, her husband and their 11-year-old child were abducted at gunpoint and held captive in a remote shack in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for 12 hours. The incident occurred on November 27. Luciana Curtis and her photographer husband, Henrique Gendre, were ambushed by armed men when they left a local restaurant. The gang forced them into their own car at gunpoint and took them to a wooden shack, according to a local Sao Paulo outlet, Gazeta. The shack, described as rudimentary, reportedly contained only a mattress, a toilet and a sink.


“The armed criminals approached the victims outside a restaurant and took them captive,” police stated in an official release, as per the NY Post. During their captivity, the gang reportedly coerced the couple into transferring money from their bank accounts. On November 28, the family was abandoned by their captors as police search teams closed in on the area.


According to the report in Gazeta, the couple's eldest daughter, noticing no one returned home for a long time, alerted her uncle, who immediately contacted the police.


“During the search by specialist police teams, the gang abandoned the family and fled,” police added.


Seeking help, the family flagged down locals in a passing truck, who escorted them to the nearest police station. There, officers from the anti-kidnapping division recorded their statements and launched an investigation. Acting on the information, they tracked down the hideout, only to discover it had already been abandoned.


A spokesperson for the model confirmed their safety, stating, “The family has been released and they are safe and well.”


Curtis, a native of Sao Paulo and daughter of British businessman Malcolm Leo Curtis, divides her time between New York, Sao Paulo and London. She gained fame in 1993 after winning the Brazilian final of the Supermodel of the World competition.


The 47-year-old has graced the covers of renowned fashion magazines such as Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan. Her career includes collaborations with global icons such as Beyonce and leading brands, including Harrods, H&M and Victoria's Secret.