Frustrated by the case still remaining open one year later Cal Ripken Jr. offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the capture and conviction of the person who kidnapped his mother for 24 hours last July, according to USA Today.
Vi Ripken was abducted from her home in Aberdeen, Md., by a man with a gun on July 24, 2012 and returned completely unharmed the next day. The abductor and Vi Ripken drove around central Maryland for hours in her Lincoln Town Car before she was returned home. After the abduction police released photos, surveillance video and a sketch of the suspect but have come up cold, according to the Baltimore Sun.
"I think in some ways maybe this should've happened earlier," Ripken said during a press conference near Oriole Park at Camden Yards. "I think in the beginning....we were all hopeful that (an arrest) would happen quickly and we were all encouraged. But, you know, it is what it is."
The Aberdeen Police said that "no additional details regarding the suspect or his motive have been developed" since the early stages of the investigation, according to the Baltimore Sun.
"I didn't want to go and hide," Vi Ripken told the Baltimore Sun. "I felt like if I keep away from things, it's not going to be very fun for me. I just had to face it."
The thought is that the large reward will re-energize interest in the case and help police find the culprit. Joining Cal Ripken at the press conference was John Walsh, former host of "America's Most Wanted." Walsh has offered to help the Ripkens by featuring the case on the front page of the "America's Most Wanted" website, according to the Associated Press.
"The average citizen, they're not looking for the rewards," Walsh said. "But in the criminal community, amongst the lowlifes who populate this country, 100 grand is a lot of money."
