Soccer Player’s Wife and 5-Year-Old Daughter Kidnapped by Intruders as He Reportedly Hid Under the Bed in Terror

• Ecuadorian soccer player Jackson Rodríguez’s Guayaquil home was reportedly broken into on the morning of Wednesday, April 23
• The sports star reportedly told police that the intruders kidnapped his wife and 5-year-old daughter as he hid under the bed
• The athlete heard the intruders questioning his wife about his location, per reports

Ecuadorian soccer player Jackson Rodríguez’s family has allegedly been kidnapped, according to multiple outlets, including ESPN and the Associated Press.

Rodríguez told police that his wife and 5-year-old daughter were abducted from their Guayaquil home, AP reports. The Emelec defender told police that he hid under the bed in his home on Wednesday morning as men broke into the home around 3 a.m., searching for him. 

The athlete told the authorities he heard the intruders questioning his wife about whether he was at the residence, according to the outlet.

Rodríguez told police that he looked out the window following the abduction and saw “that the individuals were traveling in a gray-colored double-cab pickup truck,” police chief Edison Rodriguez shared, per ESPN.

PEOPLE has reached out to the National Police of Ecuador for comment and an update on the incident but did not immediately hear back.

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The kidnapping occurred 10 days after Ecuador declared a state of emergency in nine areas throughout the country, including the Guayas province where Guayaquil is located. Authorities have blamed organized crime groups for the uptick in violent deaths and abductions. 

Guayaquil is considered a major port and drug trafficking hub in the region. In March, a gang attack in the area left 22 dead, multiple outlets reported. In February, 14 were killed in a clash between two rival gangs, CBS News reported. 

Violence in Ecuador has drastically risen in recent years with homicide rates increasing from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 in 2023, per CBS News. 

This isn’t the first time Ecuadorian soccer players have been targeted in kidnapping. In December 2024, Reuters reported that defender Pedro Perlaza was rescued by police after being held captive at a house in a rural area.