CHAMPAIGN | Two men were accused Monday of kidnapping a businessman and holding him for ransom in an Indiana motel.

Adrian Lopez, 32, and Terence Merritt, 18, both of Mattoon, are charged with kidnapping in a federal criminal complaint.

The incident began Sept. 11, when Champaign business owner Antonio Aguas was reported missing by his employees. That same day, the man’s family received a phone call from someone who claimed to be holding him.

As federal, state and local police officers searched for Aguas, the family received several phone calls from the alleged kidnappers.

The Associated Press