Student Kidnapped in Jaguaribe Is Rescued as Suspect Surrenders

Overview

• The victim was identified as Fernanda Silva Melo, 18, a nursing student abducted from her aunt’s beauty clinic in Jaguaribe on Friday.
• The suspect, named by reporters as Antônio Bezerra de Sousa Júnior, allegedly went looking to kill his former partner and, not finding her, seized the niece, according to TV Verdes Mares and family accounts.
• Officers located a rural site where Fernanda was being held, rescued her during an operation that involved a shootout, and the suspect fled before surrendering hours later.
• Family members said he was armed with a revolver, threatened to kill the hostage if police approached, and demanded a meeting with his ex in exchange for the young woman’s release.
• The Ceará public security department had not disclosed operational details as of the latest reports, while Civil and Military Police conducted the search with support from the state’s aerial operations unit.