The model daughter of a British businessman recovers from a terrible kidnapping in Brazil.
Luciana Curtis, who worked with artists such as Beyoncé and appeared on the cover of magazines such as Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan, was taken hostage along with her husband, photographer Henrique Gendre, and their 11-year-old son as they left a restaurant in Sao Paulo. . .
The armed robbers who ambushed them held them for around 12 hours and reportedly stole their car and took money from their bank accounts before releasing them yesterday.
Local reports said they were kept overnight in a wooden hut in Brasilandia, one of Sao Paulo’s 96 districts, with only a mattress, a toilet and a sink after their captors led them to the cramped hideout in the family car.
Their terrifying experience began on Wednesday night when they were leaving a restaurant in the exclusive area of Alto do Lapa.
The alarm is said to have been raised on Thursday morning after the kidnapped couple’s eldest daughter discovered that the rest of her family had not returned home and alerted a relative who called the police.
Luciana, her husband and youngest son were freed by their captors when the police search began and sought help from locals before being taken to safety.
Luciana Curtis, the model daughter of a British businessman, is recovering from a terrible kidnapping in Brazil in which her husband and 11-year-old son also participated.
Luciana in the photo with her husband and children
The model and her family were held in a hut (in the photo)
The criminals who took them hostage stole their car before leaving the hideout where they were being held and are believed to have transferred money from the couple’s bank accounts to their own during the ordeal.
A spokesman for Luciana, 53, confirmed the kidnapping to the local press and added: “The family has been freed and is safe and sound.”
A police unit specializing in kidnappings is investigating and officers have been analyzing CCTV footage around the unnamed restaurant where the gang attacked, which is located on an avenue locally identified as Avenida Pío XI.
The hut to which the beautiful brunette Luciana and her family were taken has already been located by detectives and photographed in the Brazilian press.
Police said in a statement: “The armed criminals approached the victims outside a restaurant and took them captive.
“During the search by specialized police teams, the gang abandoned the family and fled.”
Ford Models beauty Luciana Curtis was born in Sao Paulo, the daughter of British businessman Malcolm Leo Curtis and Brazilian teacher Katia Maria Furtado de Mendonca Curtis.
His main residence is in New York although he spent several years living in London.
Luciana and her family were rescued by police
Luciana Curtis in the photo with her husband Henrqiue Gendre
A spokesperson for Luciana confirmed the kidnapping to local media
She won the Brazilian final of Supermodel of the World in 1993 after receiving an invitation to become a model during a visit to a shopping center as a teenager and in the world final she placed in the top four.
She landed on the cover of a number of fashion magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Marie Claire and Nova, and has done advertisements for companies including Arden B, Harrods, H&M and Victoria’s Secret.
Luciana, who has 22,000 followers on Instagram, earned an estimated $1 million for starring in Revlon campaigns in 2001 alongside three other models.
Shortly after, she participated in the global campaign for L’Oréal’s ‘True Match’ powder and foundation alongside Beyoncé.
She appeared earlier this year alongside other models on the cover of ELLE Brazil, which said in an article accompanying the photo: “The cover of ELLE Brazil #Volume16 is an ode to the Brazilian supermodels who, since the late 1990s to the present Since then, I have taken the profession abroad, appearing on catwalks for major brands and becoming muses for legendary stylists and established photographers.
Luciana and her husband have yet to make any official comments about their ordeal.