Ripken offers huge reward in mother’s kidnapping

WASHINGTON – A reward of $100,000 is being offered by the Ripken family and Ripken Baseball for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the abduction of Cal Ripken Jr.’s mother, Vi Ripken, last year.

“Something like this changes all of our lives. You think about things a little differently than you did before,” said the Hall of Fame infielder about his mother’s abduction.

“No one prepares you for these sort of moments,” Cal Ripken said Thursday.

A man abducted Vi Ripken at gunpoint from her Aberdeen, Md., home around 7 a.m. on July 24, 2012, and held her captive for nearly 24 hours. The man released her unharmed.

Aberdeen police spokesman Lt. Fred Budnick says the case has no new active leads.

Ripken says no one knows why the kidnapping occurred.

Ripken, who announced the reward at the Sports Legends Museum next to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, said he hopes the reward will help re-energize the case.

“We would like to get closure on this case and give all of us peace of mind,” he said.

John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted will put the information on the America’s Most Wanted website to help.

“Somebody knows who this guy is,” Walsh said. “These creeps talk.”

Police ask anyone with information to call 410-265-8080.

Here are photos of the suspect Aberdeen police released last year:

Vi Ripken suspect (Courtesy of Aberdeen Police)

Video of the suspect also was taken at a store in Anne Arundel County. Here is the video that police released a year ago.

WTOP’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report. Follow @NickWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

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