Frank Stephen Ramirez of Sydney, Australia, is fighting for his life in a hospital in Medellín, Colombia, after being kidnapped, tortured and stabbed over 25 times following a music festival trip.
The trip was supposed to be a time of celebration, but turned into a “horrific nightmare”, the organisers of a GoFundMe page to support Mr Ramirez and his family said.
Attack after EDC festival
“It was supposed to be a time of joy, music, and celebration. Instead, it became a horrific nightmare that has shattered our world,” the GoFundMe page reads.
“After the event, Frank was targeted in a brutal and senseless act of violence. He was kidnapped, shoved into the back of a car, and brutally stabbed over 25 times.
“Eyewitnesses have reported that these monsters were torturing him, trying to force him to give them as much money as possible. When they were done, they kicked him out of a moving car and left him in the street to die like he was nothing.”
Injuries and hospitalisation
Mr Ramirez sustained eight wounds to his right thigh and six to his left thigh, they said.
Colombian police reportedly found Mr Ramirez and rushed him to a hospital in Medellín, where he remains.
“By a miracle, the police found him just in time. He was rushed directly to a hospital in Medellín, where he remains, fighting for his life and beginning the long, painful process of recovery,” the fundraiser organisers wrote.
“His body is covered in horrific injuries from the attack. He is all alone in a foreign country, thousands of miles from his family, facing this unimaginable trauma by himself.”
Fundraiser to support family
The fundraiser money will be used to fly his wife to Colombia, cover his mounting medical expenses and support the family while he is unable to work.
Mr Ramirez is described as a “devoted father to his son, a loving and dedicated husband to his wife, and a cherished friend to all who know him.”
“Frank is alone, terrified, and in critical condition,” the organisers said.
