Everett Police quash alleged kidnapping hoax

  Everett Police were recently informed by officers from the Stevens Point Police Department in Wisconsin that an elderly couple had sent money to 228 Main St. in Everett to free their grandson, who they said had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom.

  On the morning of November 9, officers responded to the Main Street address, where they reportedly found Raymond Medrano, 30, of Dorchester. Medrano allegedly told officers that he was searching for a friend who lived at the Main Street residence. Police ultimately took Medrano into custody after learning that he had an arrest warrant from Roxbury District Court.

  After speaking with a resident in the building, officers recovered a package that was addressed to Austin Beyer, who was the alleged kidnapping victim. However, officers could not locate anyone by that name. Upon reviewing the contents of the package, officers found $7,000 in cash and a collection of magazines.

  Officers later told the Stevens Point Police Department that the money had been recovered.

  After further investigation, officers discovered that Beyer is currently away at college and is “nowhere near the East Coast.”

   Police reported a similar incident on November 10 in which an 85-year-old woman from New York sent $9,000 to a Main Street address to pay the ransom for her nephew who had supposedly been kidnapped. After further investigation, police determined that this was also a hoax and the money was returned.