NSW Police search Dural property for abducted grandfather
Updated ,first published
Evidence has been found at a “fort” in Sydney’s northwest used by kidnappers to hold an elderly man hostage that matches images circulating in Sydney’s underworld showing the 85-year-old man being tortured. Police admit their hopes of finding him alive are fading.
Chris Baghsarian has been held hostage since he was kidnapped by three men on suspicion of mistaken identity at around 5am on February 13 from his home in North Ryde.
Police made several direct appeals to the kidnappers to bring back Baghsarian, who needed daily medical treatment and medication but could not locate him or his kidnappers.
On Thursday night, detectives working with the Chobat Strike Force searched a property at Dural in Sydney’s northwest, which they believed Baghsarian’s kidnappers were using as a “temporary stronghold”. Baghsarian has not been found at the Wildthorn Avenue property, which has been declared a crime scene, but police believe he was held there “for some time” over the past seven days.
Detective Deputy Andrew Marks, acting commander of the robbery and serious crime team, said evidence was found at Dural’s home consistent with “distressing” video and footage circulating in the criminal underworld shortly after the abduction of a seriously injured Baghsarian.
Baghsarian is seen in the footage wearing a flannel shirt and gray tracksuit pants that he was wearing when it was shot. Marks did not disclose what was found at the property, but police were seen removing large bags of evidence from the home, which was believed to have been abandoned for several years, on Friday morning.
Marks said investigators are “pursuing evidence that we believe identifies or implicates the individuals involved in this incident.” Police are searching both inside and outside the house and the wider Dural area. No one was home when police arrived, and Marks said it was unclear when or why the kidnappers left the property.
“I don’t know why they left. I don’t know why Mr. Baghsarian wasn’t there,” Marks said.
“We hope that we can obtain further evidence to identify those responsible and also obtain some information on the whereabouts of Mr. Baghsarian.”
Police have not publicly stated who they believe Baghsarian’s kidnappers wanted to kidnap, but are investigating whether the kidnapping is linked to an associate of the Alameddine crime ring whose family lives on the same street as him.
In a statement released through NSW Police on Tuesday, Baghsarian’s family said “we are living a nightmare we never thought possible.”
“Chris being kidnapped feels surreal and we are having a hard time making sense of the fact that he was kidnapped and our family was involved in something that had nothing to do with us,” they said.
Baghsarian’s family said he was much loved and was a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather.
“He is the kindest person we know; someone who would never hurt a fly,” they said.
Messages purportedly between Baghsarian’s kidnappers and the intended target of the kidnapping and published by SCN World StarAn independent media outlet focusing on Sydney’s underworld appears to show ransom demands being made.
Marks said no ransom demands were made from Baghsarian’s family, who were not in contact with the kidnappers. Police have repeatedly said that neither Bagsarian, a single widow, nor her family are linked to organized crime and believe she was kidnapped by mistake. Detectives spoke with Baghsarian’s family Thursday, Marks said.
“The world they live in is not their world. They are shocked by this. They are worried. They are devastated and they want some answers,” Marks said.
Police are appealing for citizens who may have seen suspicious activity in Dural or have dashcam footage in the area to contact authorities.
Amber Schultz is a crime and justice reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
