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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sappear-trip-Peru-area-kidnapping-threat.html
American couple disappear during Peru trip in area where criminal gang threatened to kidnap tourists
PUBLISHED: 17:17 EST, 24 February 2013 | UPDATED: 17:30 EST, 24 February 2013
An American couple have disappeared in Peru in an area where a criminal gang were believed to have been plotting to kidnap tourists, authorities said today.
Jamie Neal, 27, and her boyfriend 25-year-old Garrett Hand, have been missing since January during a biking vacation in Peru.
The U.S. State Department today issued a poster of the couple from San Francisco - who were last seen getting on a bus in the town of Cusco, headed for Lima on January 26 before getting in a cab.
Missing: Jamie Neal (right), 27, and her boyfriend Garrett Hand, 25, have been missing since January 26 in Peru when they got off a bus from Cusco in Lima
In love: The couple posted many pictures of their trip on Facebook to being with but haven't since January
They have not posted any pictures of their trip on Facebook in more than four weeks and Mr Hand's cellphone has gone unanswered.
Up until then, the couple had been regularly updating friends and family with news of their adventurous travels.
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They had customized their bikes especially for the trip which began in December. They had also traveled to Chile and Argentina before deciding to go to the Amazon instead of Machu Picchu in Peru.
Friends told KTVU that they had hoped the couple simply had mechanical issues with their bikes but after they were spotted in the Peruvian capital, it seemed unlikely.
Trip of a lifetime: The couple, who both work in cycle shops in the Bay area of San Francisco, were last seen in Peru on January 26
Adventure: The young couple (pictured on the left) went missing in Peru around a month ago in a region which was under threat of kidnappings
The U.S. Embassy in Peru along with local police are now looking clues as to what happened to the couple.
The U.S. Embassy's website posted a warning for travelers about a kidnapping threat in the region on February 13.
Authorities said that American citizens should be aware of the threat from a criminal gang in the Cusco and Machu Picchu regions through the month of February.
The U.S. Embassy has severely limited travel for officials at this time and has warned travelers to be on high alert.
The families of both Mr Hand and Miss Neal have created a Facebook page which they want to be widely shared among travelers in Peru in the hope of finding out their loved ones.
Garrett Hand is 25 years old, has blonde hair, green eyes and is 6ft tall. Miss Neal, 27, has brown, curly hair, blue eyes and is 5'5.
Desperate search: The U.S. Embassy is now looking for the young couple from San Francisco
On the lookout: The families of the missing young couple have launched a Facebook page that they want to be shared among travelers in Peru after the couple were last seen in Lima (pictured)
American couple disappear during Peru trip in area where criminal gang threatened to kidnap tourists
- Jamie Neal, 27, and her boyfriend 25-year-old Garrett Hand, from San Francisco, last seen getting into a cab in Lima on January 26
- The couple had been regularly updating family with pictures on Facebook but have not posted for four weeks
- U.S. Embassy issued alert for travelers over threat of kidnapping in Cusco and Machu Picchu area this month
PUBLISHED: 17:17 EST, 24 February 2013 | UPDATED: 17:30 EST, 24 February 2013
An American couple have disappeared in Peru in an area where a criminal gang were believed to have been plotting to kidnap tourists, authorities said today.
Jamie Neal, 27, and her boyfriend 25-year-old Garrett Hand, have been missing since January during a biking vacation in Peru.
The U.S. State Department today issued a poster of the couple from San Francisco - who were last seen getting on a bus in the town of Cusco, headed for Lima on January 26 before getting in a cab.
Missing: Jamie Neal (right), 27, and her boyfriend Garrett Hand, 25, have been missing since January 26 in Peru when they got off a bus from Cusco in Lima
In love: The couple posted many pictures of their trip on Facebook to being with but haven't since January
They have not posted any pictures of their trip on Facebook in more than four weeks and Mr Hand's cellphone has gone unanswered.
Up until then, the couple had been regularly updating friends and family with news of their adventurous travels.
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They had customized their bikes especially for the trip which began in December. They had also traveled to Chile and Argentina before deciding to go to the Amazon instead of Machu Picchu in Peru.
Friends told KTVU that they had hoped the couple simply had mechanical issues with their bikes but after they were spotted in the Peruvian capital, it seemed unlikely.
Trip of a lifetime: The couple, who both work in cycle shops in the Bay area of San Francisco, were last seen in Peru on January 26
Adventure: The young couple (pictured on the left) went missing in Peru around a month ago in a region which was under threat of kidnappings
The U.S. Embassy in Peru along with local police are now looking clues as to what happened to the couple.
The U.S. Embassy's website posted a warning for travelers about a kidnapping threat in the region on February 13.
Authorities said that American citizens should be aware of the threat from a criminal gang in the Cusco and Machu Picchu regions through the month of February.
The U.S. Embassy has severely limited travel for officials at this time and has warned travelers to be on high alert.
The families of both Mr Hand and Miss Neal have created a Facebook page which they want to be widely shared among travelers in Peru in the hope of finding out their loved ones.
Garrett Hand is 25 years old, has blonde hair, green eyes and is 6ft tall. Miss Neal, 27, has brown, curly hair, blue eyes and is 5'5.
Desperate search: The U.S. Embassy is now looking for the young couple from San Francisco
On the lookout: The families of the missing young couple have launched a Facebook page that they want to be shared among travelers in Peru after the couple were last seen in Lima (pictured)
