Mexican Baseball Manager Francisco Estrada Victim of Alleged Extortion Scheme

Mexican League baseball manager Francisco Estrada was allegedly the victim of an extortion scheme that caused his team, Bravos de Leon, to report him missing on Thursday. 

According to the Associated Press, Estrada was found safe hours after the team filed the missing persons report. 

While specifics of the extortion attempt against Estrada remain elusive, Estrada disclosed at a news conference on Thursday that he "was coerced into staying in a hotel room for three nights" by "an unknown person on the other end of the telephone who would not allow him to sleep and constantly quizzed him about what was on television to make sure he was still there."

Bravos de Leon tweeted a photo of Estrada after he joined the club on Thursday: 

The AP reported the event Estrada described sounded like a possible case of "virtual kidnapping," which occurs when "criminals threaten to harm a relative or pretend to have abducted a family member while demanding cash."

A native of Navojoa, Mexico, Estrada made one Major League appearance in 1971 when he suited up for the New York Mets in a loss to the Montreal Expos.