Colin Armstrong’s glam young lover quizzed by cops after Brit millionaire kidnapped in Ecuador by ‘15 men in disguise’
A BRITISH millionaire’s glam young lover is being quizzed by cops after he was said to be kidnapped by 15 men in disguise.
Colin Armstrong, 78, is understood to have been snatched in the early hours of Saturday at his ranch in Baba, Ecuador.
Cops are now probing the disappearance of Mr Armstrong – who is also head of the British Consulate in the city of Guayaqui.
He was said to have been taken from Rancho Rodeo Grande alongside his lover Katherine Paola Santos.
But veteran lawyer Ricardo Vanegas has now said the glam woman had been rescued, and police were now probing her over the kidnapping.
The lawyer wrote online: “It appears she is now being investigated by prosecutors and police in Ecuador over the kidnap of Colin Armstrong.”
Photos of Mr Amstring and Katherine show the pair looking loved up on holiday.
The lover had shared the snaps all over her Instagram, which now appears to have been deleted, and show the couple in front of the Hollywood sign and pyramids in Egypt.
Other images show the pair snuggled up after a swim in the ocean, and dolled up to nines at an event.
Cops are investigating the kidnap at Rancho Rodeo Grande, thought to have taken place at around 2.45am local time.
The attackers are believed to have driven the pair away in Mr Armstrong’s black BMW, reportedly found abandoned nearby.
One unconfirmed local report said the raiders were wearing police uniforms as disguises.
A video said to be circulating on social media shows the aftermath of the raid with signs of a forced entry, along with traces of blood and ransacked rooms.
A woman filming inside takes close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man who appeared to be holding a bandage to his head.
She then walks into one of the bedrooms where blood covers the bed before saying: “This is where they hit him. My God what is this.”
Mr Armstrong’s daughter has also now come forward, pleading for information on his disappearance.
Diana Armstrong-Bruns told MailOnline: “This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone.
“We just want my father back.”
The Foreign Office said they were in contact with authorities in the South American nation following the disappearance of a British man.
They did not confirm his identity or the location of the potential crime.
A spokesman for Ecuadorian police said: “Following an apparent criminal act against a businessman in the early hours of this morning in Los Rios, specialist police units are carrying out operative and investigative work on the ground.”
Mr Armstrong is the founder of a large firm in Ecuador called Agripac that produces, distributes and sells agricultural and industrial supplies.
He is also the owner of Tupgill Park Estate in North Yorkshire, which was his childhood home.
It features a famous labyrinth of tunnels, chambers and follies known as Forbidden Corner, which claims to be “the strangest place in the world”.
The 78-year-old was awarded an OBE and CMG for services to the Royal Family in 2011.