The Ripken abduction has taken another dramatic twist on Thursday, as Cal Ripken Jr. made a public announcement that he was raising the reward to $100,000 for anyone who could give information to authorities leading to the capture and conviction of the man who abducted his mother a year ago.
The announcement was made at the Sports Legends Museum by the 52-year-old Hall of Famer, who said, "Something like this changes all of our lives. You think about things a little differently than you did before. No one prepares you for these sort of moments."
Ripken's mother, Vi Ripken, 75, was abducted from her own home in Aberdeen at gunpoint on July 24, 2012.
Surveillance video has been obtained by authorities showing images of the man suspected in the kidnapping.
The incident last year saw the suspect tie up Ripken's mother and throw her in the back seat of her own car. It is then reported that he drove her around for almost 24 hours before returning her home unharmed, although extremely scared and shaken up.
Authorities were hopeful of finding the suspect after releasing the images, however, after one year the abductor remains at large. Ripken Jr. hopes that his new announcement offering the even larger reward will help to re-energized the case.
"We are trying to reignite interest in the case by putting up a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the man who abducted mom a little over a year ago," Ripken Jr. said. "In our minds, this is important, not only for us and our community, but for all communities. We would like to get closure on this case and give all of us some peace of mind."
"America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh has said, "Somebody knows who this guy is. These creeps talk."
For anyone with more information on the case, please call police or "America's Most Wanted" at 1-800-CRIME-TV.
