By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun –
BALTIMORE — Violet Ripken, the 74-year-old mother of Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr., has returned home safely after being abducted at gunpoint from her Aberdeen, Md., home, police said Wednesday.
Ripken was abducted by a man between 7 and 8 a.m. Tuesday after he pulled a handgun and forced her into a 1998 Lincoln Town Car, according to the Aberdeen Police Department.
Police are searching for the suspect, who was described as a white male in his late 30s to early 40s. He was last seen wearing a light colored shirt, camo pants and eye glasses, police said.
“This has been a very trying time for our family, but we are grateful and relieved that mom is back with us, safe and healthy,” said a statement released by the Ripken family. “We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support, especially all of the law enforcement agencies that worked so hard and quickly.”
Violet Ripken is the matriarch of one of America’s most famous baseball families — the wife of former Orioles manager and longtime coach, the late Cal Ripken Sr., and mother to Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and former Orioles second baseman Billy Ripken.
Even in recent years, she has been a familiar face around Aberdeen’s Ripken Stadium, where she watches the Ironbirds, an Orioles minor league affiliate.
The Aberdeen Police Department received a call from Baltimore County police about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, saying they had received a call about a suspicious vehicle in the Ebenezer Road area that may have something to do with the case. The road is near White Marsh, and the border between Baltimore and Harford counties.
She was located about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday unharmed in her vehicle near her home, police said.
The Baltimore County Police Department had issued a media advisory at 5:35 a.m. Wednesday calling the case a missing persons investigation, before calling off the search one hour later.
