John Bramwell Ridsdel (9 September 1947 – 25 April 2016) was an English-born Canadian businessman from Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

; kidnapped by

Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is base ...

militants in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on 21 September 2015, and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

on 25 April 2016. He was 68 years old.

Early life and career

Ridsdel's family originated from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. His mother was a Scottish-born nurse and his father a London-based physician. After moving to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, Canada, the Ridsdel family returned to Great Britain for a while, before again settling in Canada, first in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and finally in Calgary. Ridsdel attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

in Toronto, Ontario, in the mid-1960s, then later graduated with a bachelor's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and a master's degree in

political sociology Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. He initially worked as a producer and reporter at CBC Calgary and at the '' Calgary Herald'', before he joined Petro-Canada in Alberta, a company he represented in Pakistan, Myanmar and Algeria. At the time of the kidnapping, he was retired. Prior to that he had been working for the mining company TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Canada's TVI Pacific, where he was also a consultant.

Kidnapping and death

Ridsdel was kidnapped by

militants in the

on 21 September 2015, in a raid on Holiday Ocean View Samal Resort, on

Samal Island Samal, officially the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS; fil, Pulong Harding Lungsod ng Samal, ceb, Pulong Harding Dakbayan sa Samal) is a 4th class component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census ...

in the southern Philippines. After the gunmen disarmed the resort's security guards, they abducted four people from the resort, the Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, the resort's Norwegian marina manager Kjartan Sekkingstad, and a Filipino woman, Teresita Flor. The kidnappers later issued demands for a hefty ransom to be paid for the release of the hostages, reportedly 300 million pesos (around $6.5 million) for each of the three foreigners seized. As the deadline lapsed on 25 April 2016, they apparently

Ridsdel. Ridsdel's head was found in a plastic bag in

Jolo Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...

. A headless body, possibly Ridsdel's, was later found by villagers by a creek bed near Talipao. The

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

launched an international murder investigation. Canadian

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Bob Rae, a close friend of Ridsdel, said, "The numbers being bandied about were in the millions and millions of dollars and none of the families involved had that kind of cash." Canadian newspaper ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' published (from 30 November – 7 December 2016) "Held Hostage", an eight-part investigation into what really happens when a Canadian is taken hostage abroad. ''The Star'' revealed "a system ripe for overhaul", and ways Canada could change its approach, so it may be more effectively prepared in future.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridsdel, John 1947 births 2016 deaths Canadian businesspeople Canadian journalists Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Businesspeople from Calgary People murdered in the Philippines Canadian people murdered abroad Deaths by decapitation University of Toronto alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian people of Scottish descent English emigrants to Canada Abu Sayyaf