ESPN and the Associated Press report that Ecuadorian soccer player Jackson Rodríguez’s family may have been kidnapped.

According to AP, Rodríguez reported that his wife and 5-year-old daughter were seized from their Guayaquil home. The Emelec defender told police that he hid beneath the bed in his home on Wednesday morning as men burst in around 3 a.m. to look for him.

According to the source, the athlete informed investigators that he overheard the burglars asking his wife about his presence at the house.

According to ESPN, Rodríguez reported that after the kidnapping, he noticed a gray-colored double-cab pickup truck driving by.

PEOPLE contacted Ecuador’s National Police for comment and an update on the incident, but did not receive an immediate response.

The kidnapping occurred ten days after Ecuador proclaimed a state of emergency in nine provinces, including Guayaquil. Authorities have blamed organised crime gangs for an increase in violent killings and abductions.

Guayaquil is regarded as a major port and drug trafficking hub in the region. Multiple sites reported in March that a gang attack in the area killed 22 people. CBS News claimed that 14 people were killed in February in a confrontation between two rival gangs.

Violence in Ecuador has skyrocketed in recent years, with homicide rates rising from six per 100,000 people in 2018 to 47 in 2023, according to CBS News.

This is not the first time Ecuadorian soccer players have been targeted for kidnapping. According to Reuters, authorities rescued defender Pedro Perlaza after he was held captive at a rural home in December 2024.