Shock footage shows the moment the 85-year-old was dragged by two men from his home in – what police say – is a horror case of mistaken identity.
Chilling CCTV footage has captured the terrifying moment an 85-year-old grandfather was abducted from his own home in what police believe was a shocking case of mistaken identity.
Chris Baghsarian was taken just before 5am on Friday after intruders forced their way into his home in New South Wales, Australia, with his captors caught on camera bundling the elderly man into a waiting car as he pleaded for help.
Grainy vision aired on Australian news network Nine shows two men — one wearing a high-visibility jacket — arriving at the North Ryde home in a dark four-wheel-drive before approaching the property. Moments later, Mr Baghsarian can be seen being pushed towards the vehicle before it speeds away into the darkness.
Police later discovered an abandoned dark Toyota SUV that they believed is linked to the abduction. The car, found more than eight miles away, was completley burned out.
New South Wales Police Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks said officers were “a million per cent confident” the kidnappers had taken the wrong man, stressing that Mr Baghsarian and his family had no links to organised crime.
“He was taken from his bedroom in the family home and driven to a location we simply don’t know,” Superintendent Marks said. “We believe he is still alive, but we are deeply concerned for his welfare.”
No ransom demand has been made for the elderly man. Police added that they have no idea why the kidnappers are still holding the him hostage, but have called on the kidnappers to act with humanity and release him immediately.
“Take him to a hospital or somewhere safe,” Superintendent Marks said. “We’ll do the rest.”
Mr Baghsarian requires daily medication, raising serious fears for his health as the desperate search continues.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns described the family as “distraught”. He called on those responsible for the savage abduction to do the right thing.
“This is a man over 80 years old,” Mr Minns said. “Please return him to his family.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers in Australia on 1800 333 000.
![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-400x240.jpg)
![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-80x80.jpg)
