“Everything’s okay”: Kidnapped man calls stepdad after escape

Jef Mathijssen was overjoyed when he got a call from his kidnapped stepson 42 year old Rien de Koning around 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, telling him that he and 18 year old Gino Heeren are okay. "I can not explain how i'm feeling right now, so much stress left us." he said to Omroep Brabant. Gino and Rien were kidnapped from the car dealership where they work in Breda on Tuesday. They were found on the outskirts of Ulicoten early on New Year's morning after they escaped their captors. Rien borrowed a police officer's phone to call his stepdad. "I'm at the police station, we are free. Everything's okay", Rien said, Mathijssen told the broadcaster, adding that it was a brief, but emotionally tough conversation. Mathijssen has no idea why his stepson and Gino were kidnapped. The police investigation will clear that up. "Most important now is that it ended well."