Luis Diaz latest: Police search forest for Liverpool star’s kidnapped father as reward offered

Police are searching a forest in northern Colombia for the father of a Liverpool footballer who was kidnapped at the weekend.

It is believed that Luis Diaz’ parents were kidnapped by gunmen on motorbikes at a petrol station in their home town of Barrancas, La Guajira, on Saturday.

The international footballer’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued in a ‘padlock operation’ by police but his father Luis Manuel Diaz remains missing and could have been smuggled across the border into Venezuela.

On Monday, aerial patrols were carried out across the Perija mountain range, which is covered by cloud forest and straddles the border.

The army has also set up roadblocks, deployed helicopters, a plane with radar and two motorised platoons as the search for Diaz’s father, Luis Manuel Diaz, continues. Director of the National Police, General William Rene Salamanca, announced on Sunday that a reward of £39,000 was available for information leading to his safe return.

Attorney General Francisco Barbosa said he was in contact with Diaz with updates on the investigation and said there was a possibility his father could be in Venezuela.

Barbosa told reporters: “We have information that he could, at some point, be in Venezuela. If he ends up crossing the border, we have to ask Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro to help us with freeing Luis Diaz’s father.”

Colombia’s interior minister has sent more than 100 troops to the mountainous northern border of the South American country and has asked his Venezuelan counterpart to step up their border patrols.

Diaz was due to play in the Liverpool side which beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday but the forward was replaced by Diogo Jota, who held up a shirt in support of his teammate after scoring the opning goal.

Liverpool have offered their support to the play and manager Jurgen Klopp said: “The best thing we could do for our brother was that we win the game and distract him a little bit maybe, all the rest was super special in the most negative understanding. After more than 1,000 games you would think you have experienced everything, but no.

“But it’s not about us, it’s about ‘Lucho’ and his family, and we all pray and hope that everything will be fine. What we can do, we will do, we’ve done already in the club and the only thing we could do today was fight for their brother - and that’s what they did.”