Sydney man in critical condition after alleged kidnap and stabbing following Medellín EDC festival

Left · 2Frank Stephen Ramirez, a father from Sydney, Australia, is in hospital in Medellín, Colombia, in a critical condition after an attack following the EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) music festival. 1 2 Left · 2The account comes from a GoFundMe fundraiser run by his family and supporters. It says he was kidnapped, put in the back of a car and stabbed more than 25 times, and that eyewitnesses reported he was tortured to force him to hand over as much money as possible. 1 2 Left · 1The fundraiser says he was then kicked out of a moving car and left in the street, and that he had eight wounds to his right thigh and six to his left thigh. 1

Left · 2The Independent, citing the City Paper Bogota, reports he was found with serious injuries on a street in Medellín in the early hours of Sunday and gives his age as 46. The Mirror says police found him and rushed him to hospital, and the fundraiser says they found him "just in time". 2 1 Left · 1The Independent reports that Colombian authorities are examining public surveillance footage and private security cameras, that police are investigating the circumstances and a possible robbery, and that no arrests have been made. 2 Left · 2The fundraiser, which the Independent says was organised by Cindy Aguilera and Michelle Ramirez, aims to fly his wife to Colombia, cover medical costs and support the family while he cannot work. It describes him as a devoted father, husband and friend who is alone in a foreign country. 1 2

Left · 1The Independent places the case in the context of other incidents involving foreign nationals at the festival: it says this is the third such case, after the death of British-born oncologist Ajay Bhatnagar, 51, who lived in the US, and of Costa Rican Ismael Gerardo Méndez Huertas, 27. Investigators were examining whether Bhatnagar's emergency was linked to suspected high doses of amphetamines and alcohol, and a medical report on Méndez Huertas cited possible poisoning. 2 Left · 1The Independent said it had asked EDC for comment. The kidnapping and torture account rests on the family's fundraiser and reported eyewitness accounts, and the coverage does not show any official confirmation of it. 2