Thaindian News

Kathmandu, May 29 (IANS) An American living in Nepal for some time was abducted early Sunday morning from his hotel in Kathmandu’s prime tourist area, police said.

John Robert Schrumpf, said to be in his 20s, was forcibly taken away from the Dream Home Hotel in Thamel around 2 a.m.

Police said they were hunting for the missing man who had been a long-time resident of Nepal.

Hotel staff said Schrumpf was working as a volunteer for a charitable organisation and had been living in the hotel for some months.

He was in the habit of returning to his room late at night and had checked in around 2 a.m. Sunday when the guard at the gate was shoved aside by two men, who claimed to be from the security forces, and forced their way in.

The intruders intercepted the American and dragged him away despite protests by the hotel staff.

Last month, an American woman visiting Nepal and also staying in the Thamel area told police that she was raped by the hotel owner, a charge denied by the man who was later arrested.

The news of the kidnap comes even as Nepal is celebrating Tourism Year 2011 with the intention of bringing in one million air-borne tourists.

This week, a 49-year-old Japanese woman, identified only as Makiko, went missing from a valley in northern Nepal.

The Japanese had been staying at Peace Fall hotel near the Gosainkunda lake in Langtang valley, a frozen lake that is considered sacred and is a major pilgrim destination.

Police said she had gone out for a walk in the morning and did not come back. A hunt has been launched to locate the missing tourist.

The Langtang valley, one of the remotest areas in Nepal close to the Tibet border and a favourite trekking circuit, is also the region from where a young American woman, Aubrey Sacco, disappeared last year.

The 23-year-old was last seen on April 22, 2010 leaving a small inn known as Lama Hotel on the Langtang trail.

Her family, which conducted an intensive search for her, has still not given up hope that she might be found.

Information is also being sought about a missing 19-year-old Lithuanian, Paulius Zavadckis, who went missing in March.

The teen had come to Nepal in February to volunteer for a charitable project in the Helambu region. His family says after leaving the project, he sent an email March 7, following which he went out of contact.

The day he sent that last email, the teen was traced to Pokhara city, a popular tourist destination.

(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)