Authorities are looking into the alleged kidnapping and extortion case of a poker player in Michigan.
George Jansen of Bad Axe, Michigan, was found with his hands bound and his face covered in blood along a rural road in Meade Township on December 23 at approximately 12:30 a.m. Jansen was taken to the hospital and later released to return home.
At the poker tables, he has earned more than $500,000 in straight winnings in tournaments including four World Series of Poker Circuit rings and a Central states poker tour Title from September.
The poker player claimed it was Dealing with blackmail attempts For two years and he had been kidnapped.
“His obvious injuries were being treated by ambulance crews,” Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said. WJRT.
The investigation is ongoing
Three local law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation of the alleged crimes and have forwarded information to police FBI. WJRT She reported that family members first reported on November 13 that Jansen was “in trouble in Monroe County south of Dundee.”
That area is located about 170 miles south of Bad Ax. Where Janssen was found, the town of Meade is about 10 miles from Bad Axe. Later, a family friend found his car with some cash, including a $50 bill, lying on the floorboard, according to reports.
A family member said WJRT Two or three people kidnapped Jansen and took him to the Toledo area, where he was held against his will for 35 days in the basement. He claims that the kidnappers then took him to Huron County on December 16.
“From what we gathered, he was brought up here to recover some money that was hidden away to give to these two attackers,” Hanson said.
How Janssen managed to escape his captors is not available. Authorities continue to investigate, and Bad Ax Police and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department contributed to the investigation.
“We can’t prove whether that actually happened or not,” Hanson said. “But there are a lot of things to consider.”
*Venice photography – MSPT -Anthony Thompson
