BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥 Colombian authorities on Wednesday were investigating the alleged kidnapping and murder of a Hmong American comedian and activist who was found dead Monday in a wooded area of the northern city Medell铆n.
Prosecutors told reporters that Tou Ger Xiong, 50, arrived in Medell铆n on Nov. 29. He went to meet a friend in the city on Dec. 10. Hours later he called a friend in the United States to tell him that he was kidnapped and his captors demanded a $2,000 ransom to free him, according to prosecutors.
Yiri Amado S谩nchez, sectional director of Medell铆n prosecutor鈥檚 office, indicated that another friend of the activist reported the kidnapping for ransom 鈥 a common occurrence in the city. The office did not identify the friend by name.
鈥淭he man was the victim of a kidnapping," S谩nchez said, adding that the alleged kidnappers didn't collect the money.
Xiong, who lived in the St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb of Woodbury, was a comedian, entertainer, storyteller and social justice activist. He talked about his Hmong heritage and immigrant experience to forge connections with audiences across the country. His family said in a statement issued by his brother, Eh Xiong, that 鈥渢he pain of his loss is indescribable.鈥
The family said Tou Ger Xiong, one of 11 siblings, 鈥渄edicated his life to building bridges across cultures, to giving voice for those who may not have one, and to working toward justice for all.鈥
So far this year Colombian prosecutors have documented kidnappings of 253 people for attempted extortion.
Three American tourists, including Xiong, have been murdered in Colombia just in the last month, local media reported.
Eh Xiong told Minnesota TV stations that his brother frequently traveled to Colombia. He said he last heard from his brother Sunday night when he asked him to send $2,000. He told KARE-TV that his brother said he was 鈥渋n a bit of a situation here鈥 but didn鈥檛 give details.
The brother said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was busy working to bring his brother鈥檚 body back to Minnesota.
The State Department press office said in an email to the AP that it was providing 鈥渁ll appropriate assistance鈥 to the family but declined to provide further details out of respect to the family.
Tou Ger Xiong was born in Laos in 1973. His family fled to Thailand after the communist takeover in 1975 because his father had served as captain in the U.S-backed Hmong army, in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. They spent four years in a refugee camp in Thailand before resettling in St. Paul, which is home to the largest Hmong community of any city in the U.S.
He was the valedictorian of the class of 1992 at Humboldt High School and earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science from Carleton College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Northfield. He helped establish the annual 鈥淗mong Minnesota Day鈥 at the Minnesota State Fair in 2015 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first arrival of Hmong refugees in the state, where the around 95,000, according to U.S. Census Department data.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter paid tribute to Xiong in a series of tweets Wednesday, saying he was 鈥渢oo full of life to be snatched away so suddenly.鈥
鈥淗e was one of the funniest and most sincere people I鈥檝e ever met.鈥 Carter said. 鈥淎 community leader, accomplished storyteller & comedian, the first Hmong rapper, and an absolute karaoke master in any genre of music. His light enlivened everyone around him. ... If you ever saw a guy dancing at one of my campaign events wearing a James Brown (or Elvis) costume & a permanent laugh, you鈥檝e met Tou Ger.鈥
Former Minnesota state Sen. Mee Moua, a family friend and the first Hmong American woman elected to any state legislature in the U.S., said Xiong helped Hmong Americans see themselves as 鈥済ifted, creative and amazing beings鈥 and built bridges to other communities.
鈥淭oday the Hmong diaspora around the world, whether in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China, France, Australia, Canada, South America, and the United States of America, have lost a one of a kind modern day hero,鈥 Moua said in a statement Tuesday. 鈥淭ou: In a time when we needed belonging, your stories anchored our Hmong children in their roots. Your songs and your dance invited elders to embrace the new without fear of losing their cultural identity.鈥
His family said they planned to create a nonprofit foundation in his name as a tribute to his legacy.
___
Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.
____
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
