Police question couple over missing man

Police have arrested a couple in their twenties on suspicion of being behind the kidnapping of a 25-year-old man who went missing from his home in Uppsala on the December 28th.

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"He is still missing and we continue searching for him," said Lisa Sannervik of the Uppsala police to daily Aftonbladet on Tuesday.

Police believe that the man, a medical student at Uppsala University, whose family owns a large business, could have been kidnapped and is being held to ransom for money.

A 26-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been taken in for questioning after being stopped in their car outside Uppsala early on Tuesday morning.

They are also students at the university and the woman is allegedly a friend of the missing 25-year-old.

Police found things belonging to the missing man in the car, but are so far unwilling to disclose what these are.

However, the investigation took a surprising turn earlier in the week when police picked up some signals from the man’s phone in the area of Örebro on New Year's Eve.

“The county communication centre in Uppsala turned to us after they had discovered the mobile phone signals,” said Kenneth Johannesson, of the Örebro police, to daily newspaper Nerikes Allehanda (NA).

A signal was detected at a telephone mast in nearby Laxå, and a little bit later another signal came in from a location near or in the University Hospital in Örebro.

After confirming that the man was not admitted to the hospital, the police in Örebro has not been able to contribute further in the investigation, said Johannesson.

Uppsala police are still working hard on finding leads but have so far not been able to discover the man's whereabouts.

“We have no trace of him. He has not been in contact and we do not know where he is,” said Christer Nordström, at the Uppsala police to news agency TT.

Uppsala police are now hoping for information from the general public.

“In circumstances like these we are working against the clock and we are grateful for any further leads that may be given to us from the general public,” Sannervik told the newspaper.

According to daily Aftonbladet, the arrested couple are known to police for "similar offences".

The vehicle that the couple drove when being stopped by the police in the outskirts of Uppsala is now being examined by forensics.

Kidnapping is a serious offence in Sweden and could result in up to four years in prison or even a life sentence.