Some people make up small excuses to go out with friends. Others? They stage their own kidnapping.
Back in 2013, 34-year-old Rogelio Andaverde from Edinburg, Texas, pulled one of the most absurd stunts ever—just so he could have a night out drinking.
Instead of simply telling his wife he wanted to go out, Andaverde took things to the extreme. He roped in two friends to help him fake an armed abduction right inside his own home. The plan? They’d “kidnap” him at gunpoint while his wife watched in horror.
And it worked—at first. His terrified wife, Maria Hernandez, immediately called the police, sparking a full-blown emergency response.
Authorities took the case seriously. Sheriff Guadalupe Trevino later explained, “People don’t just barge into your house and kidnap you for the hell of it.”
Determined to rescue Andaverde, officers launched an intense manhunt. Helicopters searched the area, and dozens of officers from the Department of Public Safety scoured the town. Meanwhile, police interrogated Hernandez for hours, trying to gather any information that could help find her missing husband.
But Andaverde wasn’t in danger. He was out having drinks.
Two days later, he casually strolled back home, claiming his kidnappers had suddenly decided to let him go.
The police, already suspicious, weren’t buying it. A little questioning was all it took for Andaverde to crack—he admitted he had made up the entire thing just so he could party without his wife knowing.
If he thought he was in trouble before, this was next level. Sheriff Trevino summed it up best: “I don’t think his wife appreciated being kept up until 4 or 5 in the morning, being interviewed by the cops, while her husband was out doing who knows what with who knows who.”
But his wife’s anger wasn’t the only consequence. Andaverde was arrested and pleaded guilty to making a false report—a Class B misdemeanor. He ended up spending 19 days in jail.
Moral of the story? Next time, just ask your spouse before sneaking out. It’s a lot easier than faking a kidnapping.
