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A search for Liverpool star Luis Diaz\u2019s father has seen police air and land patrols search a cloud forest in northern Colombia on Monday.<\/p>\n
The winger\u2019s father was kidnapped over the weekend along with the player\u2019s mother, with Fifa sending \u201csupport and prayers\u201d to the player\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
The couple were at a gas station in the small town of Barrancas on Saturday when they were abducted by armed men on motorcycles. Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued within hours by police that set up roadblocks around the town of 40,000 people, which is near Colombia’s border with Venezuela.<\/p>\n
But his father, Luis Manuel D\u00edaz, remained missing. On Monday, special forces searched a mountain range that straddles both countries and is covered by cloud forest. Police also offered a $48,0000 reward for information leading to Diaz\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Officials said they did not rule out the possibility that the elder D\u00edaz could have been smuggled into Venezuela, where he would be beyond the reach of Colombian police.<\/p>\n
D\u00edaz is one of the most talented players on Colombia\u2019s national team and currently plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, which he joined last year in a deal worth $67 million.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old striker was absent from Liverpool\u2019s match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. D\u00edaz’s teammates expressed their solidarity with the Colombian by holding up one of his jerseys on the pitch after scoring the team\u2019s first goal in their 3-0 victory.<\/p>\n
The abduction of D\u00edaz\u2019s parents comes as kidnappings for ransom and extortion of businesses increase in Colombia despite efforts by the nation\u2019s first left-wing government to broker ceasefires with rebel groups. Criminals and rebel groups in the country have long kidnapped civilians for ransom in order to finance their operations.<\/p>\n
So far, none of the armed groups operating in Colombia has claimed responsibility for kidnapping Diaz\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n