After three long weeks of perplexing negotiations, the parents of Kimberly were overjoyed when their daughter was returned home, safe and sound. Kimberly had already been missing for four days when a family friend alerted her parents to an ad on the online bulletin board, Kijiji. “Young woman for ransom. Blonde, 24. $10,000 in unmarked 20 dollar bills, or best offer.” The face in the ad’s picture left no doubt. Kimberly had been kidnapped.

Initial SMS contact with the kidnappers confirmed that Kimberly was “in mint condition” and “like new.” The deal was eventually haggled down to $4,400 and a used bicycle. However, the two suspects were quickly apprehended when one of them offered their home address as a location for the trade.