Few details emerge in man's kidnapping near Palmview

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>> Anyone with information about Roberto Carlos Bautista or his kidnapping is urged to contact Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at (956) 668-8477.

NEAR PALMVIEW — A group of men with firearms stormed a home here Tuesday morning and kidnapped a 21-year-old man in front of his family, authorities said.

Four men burst into a house on the 4500 block of Sorita Road and abducted Roberto Carlos Bautista about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Relatives have been “very tight-lipped” with investigators about Bautista and what may have motivated the kidnapping, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. The family did say that the quartet barged into their house and called out for Bautista before they took him from a bedroom, loaded him into a vehicle and took off.

“I can tell you this: He was definitely targeted, this was not random, and they were specifically looking for him,” the sheriff said.

Aside from one arrest on a theft charge, Bautista has a clean criminal record. With few other leads in the investigation, sheriff’s deputies are asking the public to help them by providing details about the kidnapping and any information about Bautista — an uncommon move, the sheriff said.

“This is a very unusual plea for assistance from the public; we never have done this before,” Treviño said. “We never say, ‘If you know something about the victim, please call us.’”

Investigators hope that by finding out more from the public about Bautista, they will be able to identify a motive in his kidnapping — and hopefully find him alive, the sheriff said.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.