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The strange case of missing Canadian entrepreneur Ryan Craig Piercy Bate, who was reported missing and possibly kidnapped in Costa Rica a little more than a month ago, has finally yielded positive news for his family. According to two news media outlets in Costa Rica, Mr. Piercy arrived in his home in Heredia, where he arrived around midnight on a Saturday via a red taxicab.

National newspaper La Nacion and online news daily Costa Rica Hoy have both cited statements from the public relations section of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ), which indicate the following:

• Thankfully, Mr. Piercy appears to be safe, in good health and enjoying the company of his family
• Mr. Piercy has not spoken to OIJ agents with regard to his mysterious disappearance
• The OIJ has not released any indications of suspects involved in the alleged kidnapping
• Not much new information has been provided since Mr. Piercy was first reported missing on January 20^th

CRHoy.com explains that OIJ Director Francisco Segura denied knowledge of Mr. Piercy being involved in criminal activity that could have merited a kidnapping by unhappy partners in crime. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star:

[the] Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) began looking into the disappearance of Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy, who is believed to have been taken hostage by captors demanding 272 million colones as ransom payment, which is more than $500K in today’s currency exchange rate.

 

According to [a] news report filed by Manuel Estrada of Diario Extra, the 46-year old Mr. Piercy received a mysterious phone call at noon on the day before his disappearance was reported to the police. He drove [a] Nissan Tiida somewhere outside of San Jose; said vehicle was found abandoned in a coffee farm [in the vicinity of the old Siete Mares seafood restaurant] just outside of Santo Domingo in Heredia, a municipality not far from the heart of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan area.

 

As reported by Manuel Estrada of Diario Extra, Mr. Piercy’s family [made a payment of] 136 million colones (more than $250,000) to the alleged kidnappers. This payment was allegedly made in exchange for proof of life, and could signal an upcoming release of Mr. Piercy. The proof of life reported by Diario Extra seems to be a video of Mr. Piercy, who allegedly speaks to the camera and expresses his well-being. He was reportedly sitting down and wearing casual attire. His beard was reported to have grown significantly in the last couple of weeks, and the background of the video is generally dark. Still, reports Diario Extra, detectives from the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initals: OIJ) believe that the video may have been produced before Mr. Piercy’s disappearance, and that the site appears to be somewhere in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica.

One of the most curious factors in the disappearance of Mr. Piercy has been the alleged demand of a ransom payment in Bitcoin, a controversial digital currency that is known for its strong cryptographic nature. Our previous report on this situation indicated that the kidnappers demanded about $500K to be paid in Bitcoin, which is a very volatile digital currency that is not as anonymous as many believe. The use of Bitcoin is not widespread in Costa Rica; its complex encryption system makes it anonymous only to a certain extent. Anyone with a modern Internet browser can track the chain of transfers and payments of Bitcoin, which could help law enforcement agents, which in this case include also Canadian authorities, to eventually locate the hostage takers or accomplices.