‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ - Liverpool update on Luis Diaz as elite forces scour mountains for kidnapped father

Hundreds of people have marched on the streets of Colombia to call for the safe return of the kidnapped father of Liverpool star Luis Diaz.

The Colombian international’s parents were taken by gunmen on motorbikes while buying watermelons at a service station in their home town of Barrancas, La Guajira, on Saturday.

His mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was swiftly 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.

Reds winger Diaz was persuaded not to return to his homeland over fears for his safety but he is receiving regular updates from the authorities. The 26-year-old took to social media on Tuesday to urge people to join a public march in Colombia to highlight the plight of his father and plead with kidnappers to ‘free him now’.

Director of the National Police, General William Rene Salamanca joined patrols in the Perija mountain range in the north of the country, amid concerns Luis Manuel may have been taken to the border with Venezuela, but the latest intelligence suggest he remains in Colombia.

The army has set up roadblocks, deployed helicopters, a plane with radar and two motorised platoons to help locate Diaz’s father. A reward of £40,000 is also available for information leading to his safe return.

New information on the kidnapping indicates that following the ‘padlock operation’ to rescue Diaz’s mother, the gunmen abandoned their stolen car and continued on a trio of motorcycles, two of which were snatched from members of the public.

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 opening goal.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup match against AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday night, assistant coach Pep Lijnders gave an update on how the club are trying to help Diaz.

“He is an incredible player, everyone can see that. Then you see him in the building, he is the guy who always smiles. We really care about him,” Lijnders said. “We hope the authorities can find his dad, we pray for that. As long as we do the right thing for him, he is one of us.

“The team responded brilliantly by putting the shirt up, and the way the stadium reacted was a special moment. Our motto is You’ll Never Walk Alone. So we just pray for a good situation.”