The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to be continuing an investigation into the reported kidnapping of a Michigan poker player best known for winning four WSOP Michigan Online Circuit rings since early 2022.
George Janssen, 41, of Bad Axe, Michigan, was discovered by passersby on a roadside in Meade Township, near Bad Axe in Michigan's "Thumb" region, at about 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 16. Janssen's hands were zip-tied, and he claimed that he had just escaped his abductors. Several police officers arrived on the scene and gathered more information from Janssen as he was treated for minor injuries and transported to a nearby medical center for evaluation.
Janssen had been reported missing by family members nearly five weeks earlier, south of Detroit near the Michigan-Ohio border. His car (photo sbove) was found on a rural Monroe County road by a friend of the family in mid-November.
Janssen told police that he had been held in the basement of a Toledo, Ohio house for 35 days, and he escaped his kidnappers after they had brought him back to his home town to retrieve hidden money to give to them. He also claimed that he had been targeted for extortion for two years.
