American Teacher Kidnapped

Police were searching Saturday for an American teacher who was kidnapped a day earlier from near her home outside the Guatemalan capital.

Three armed men abducted Zeta Philips, 64, a longtime resident of this Central American nation, police said.

“We have no clues as to her whereabouts but have some leads about the red car kidnappers used to abduct Philips,” police spokesman Oscar Quinonez said.

Police say 44 people have been kidnapped since President Alvaro Arzu took power Jan. 14. Some legislators, however, say at least 150 people have been kidnapped this year, but many abductions are not reported because families prefer to deal directly with kidnappers.

Thursday night, American landowner Howard Turner and his chauffeur were released after their kidnappers reportedly received an undisclosed ransom. Turner, 70, and his driver had been abducted Tuesday as they left their car to open the gate of Turner’s farm in Pueblo Nuevo Vinas, some 40 miles southeast of the capital.

The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on either of the kidnappings.