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The horrific abduction of Eduardo Valseca in 2007 paved the way for seven months of torture and pain as he was held hostage inside a wooden box with limited water and food. As Eduardo's wife, Jayne, fought with terminal cancer, she raised the ransom amount to have her husband back.
The Dateline NBC episode titled The Ranch (episode 25 of Season 28) chronicles the shocking details of Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping as it airs on NBC on July 5, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST. The official synopsis reads,
"The Valseca siblings' lives are changed when their father is taken hostage in an orchestrated abduction."
The episode was originally aired on March 20, 2020, but currently, the network is airing reruns of old episodes.
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Five details about Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping explored
1) Eduardo Garcia Valseca was abducted on June 13, 2007
Eduardo Garcia Valseca and Jayne Rager Valseca had dropped off their three children at Waldorf School, an institution the couple had founded, and were headed back home when they found multiple cars parked by the road close to their property.
The men in the vehicles attacked Eduardo and Jayne and moved them to an SUV. Upon reaching another location, they shifted Eduardo to another car and abducted him while Jayne was left in the middle of the highway.
2) The kidnappers demanded $8 million in ransom
After deliberations, Jayne Valseca made home on foot and informed the Federal Investigative Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación or AFI). Jayne returned to the place she was left with the authorities and found a ransom note instructing her to use a communication line over emails.
Jayne spoke to Dateline earlier to share,
“It immediately made me realize I needed to be very careful and very smart about the choices I was about to make. My husband’s life was on the line.”
According to Oxygen, the kidnappers had allegedly assumed the Valsecas to be more well off than they were as they demanded $8 million in ransom.
3) Eduardo was brutally beaten and tortured every day by his abductors
Eduardo Valseca was held captive by the kidnappers in a small wooden box 70 inches in height, 20 inches in width, and 80 inches in length, per CNN. The cage was built to be a closet that was constructed upright against a brick or concrete wall.
The men left a bucket as a makeshift toilet for Eduardo and left him scraps, egg shells, and chicken bones for food during his captive days. They kept a light bulb lit inside and blared loud music at all times of the day to ensure he remained disoriented.
4) Jayne Valseca fought stage 4 breast cancer while she negotiated the terms of Eduardo's release
Jayne Rager Valseca had reportedly shared that she had been undergoing treatment for stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer during the ordeal, per NBC News. According to Oxygen, Jayne would take her treatment from the United States and would subsequently return to Mexico to deal with Eduardo's abduction.
Two weeks after Eduardo was released from captivity, Jayne received news of her cancer returning to her body. Jayne's cancer was terminal and she lost her life to the disease four years after Eduardo was released.
5) Eduardo Valseca was released in January 2008
Jayne negotiated with the kidnappers for months before she faked moving to the United States. According to Oxygen, the act confused the kidnappers who decreased the ransom amount in their following emails, and thus, agreed to an undisclosed amount which was paid for by an anonymous benefactor.
Eduardo Valseca was released on January 24, 2008, but the abductors, in turn, kidnapped one of the ranch employees who were assigned to drop the ransom money. Jayne reportedly shared,
“I pulled him into me and put my arms around him and he just felt so cold. It was literally as if he was already dead and I just started kissing him all over his cheeks,”
Eduardo weighed under 100 pounds and could not walk straight after months of being held inside a small box.
After the incident, the family moved to Washington D.C., where Eduardo continues to reside. No one has yet been arrested for his abduction.
Catch all the details of Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping on Dateline's upcoming episode on NBC on Friday.
