A MODEL who is the daughter of a British businessman was kidnapped with her husband and child outside a restaurant in Brazil.
Luciana Curtis, her husband Henrique Gendre and their 11-year-old child are now recovering from the horrific ordeal where they were held in a shack.
InstagramModel Luciana Curtis was kidnapped with her family outside of a restaurant in Brazil on Wednesday night[/caption]
InstagramThe alarm was raised by their eldest child who realized her family had not come home[/caption]
Curtis has been on the cover of huge fashion magazines and has worked with the likes of Beyonce
Armed robbers ambushed the family and held them for about 12 hours, allegedly stealing their car and money from their bank accounts before releasing them.
The trio were leaving a restaurant in Alto do Lapa on Wednesday night when they were snatched by the gang of robbers.
It was only the following morning that the alarm was raised by the couple’s eldest child who found that her family had not returned home, according to local reports.
The terrified daughter contacted a relative who called the police.
Reports claim that the model who has worked with the likes of Beyonce and featured on the covers of magazines like Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire was held in a shack with her family overnight.
The wooden hut in Brasilandia, one of San Paulo’s 96 districts, had just a mattress, toilet, and sink.
Luciana, her husband, and their youngest child were released by their captors as the police launched a search for the family.
The terrified family sought help from locals after their captors had abandoned the hideaway, stealing the model’s car.
They were swiftly taken to safety and a spokesperson for the 47-year-old model confirmed the incident to local press saying: “The family has been released and they are safe and well.”
While they were holed up in the wooden shack, their abductors are understood to have transferred money from the couple’s bank accounts to their own.
JoeldatenaCops quickly located the shack that the family were holed up in[/caption]
GettyCurtis and her family are recovering from their ordeal as a police investigation takes place[/caption]
A specialist police anti-kidnap unit is investigating and officers have been analysing CCTV footage around the unnamed restaurant where the gang struck.
Detectives have already located the shack that the family were taken to.
In a statement, police confirmed: “The armed criminals approached the victims outside a restaurant and took them captive.
“During the search by specialist police teams, the gang abandoned the family and fled.”
Neither Curtis nor her husband have issued any comment themselves about the ordeal.
Brazilian-born Curtis is the daughter of British businessman Malcolm Leo Curtis and teacher Katia Maria Furtado de Mendonca Curtis.
She was born in Sao Paulo but primarily lives in New York.
The stunning brunette got to the final of the Brazilian Supermodel of the World in 1993 after she started modelling at the age of just 14.
A scout handed her an invite to the competition while she was visiting a shopping centre.
Curtis came in the top four and went on to become the cover of a string of magazines and being part of the worldwide campaign for L’Oreal’s ‘True Match’ powder and foundation with Beyonce.
Earlier this year she featured alongside other models on the cover of ELLE Brazil.
The issue was an “ode to Brazilian supermodels who, from the late 1990s to the present day, have been taking the profession abroad, appearing on catwalks for major brands, and becoming muses of legendary stylists and established photographers.”
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InstagramCurtis, her photographer husband Henrique Gendre had their car stolen and money drained from their bank accounts[/caption]
GettyCurtis has advertised for the likes of Harrods, Victoria’s Secret, L’Oreal and Revlon[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
