Van driver sought Violet Ripken kidnapping

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ABERDEEN, Md., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Aberdeen, Md., police say they want to talk to a minivan driver about the abduction of Violet Ripken, mother of Cal Ripken Jr., as they seek fresh leads.

A suspect in the July 24 abduction, from which Mrs. Ripken was returned unharmed after about 24 hours, may have had a brief conversation in a Walmart parking lot with the driver of the vehicle the day after the incident, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

Aberdeen police Lt. Fred Budnick said the driver of the dark green Dodge Caravan minivan seen in newly released photographs is not a suspect, but may be a witness, and asked him to come forward.

The 74-year-old mother of the Baltimore Orioles star and widow of Cal Ripken Sr., the baseball team's former star player and manager, was abducted at gunpoint from her home, driven around the state while bound in the back seat of her car, then dropped off near her home, the newspaper said.