UPDATE: Colin Armstrong freed in Ecuador

Ecuadorian Police have posted on Social media that the Forbidden Corner owner has been found safe and well.

Colin Armstrong, 78, who was snatched from his ranch in Los Ríos in the early hours of Saturday (December 16), has been released from captivity.

The spokesperson for Mr Armstrong, Leo Moris from the Tupgill Estate is reported as saying he is now with police and authorities in Ecuador.  He has said that the staff, tenants, farmers and friends of Clin are absolutely delighted at the news.  It couldn't have come at a better time.

Mr Armstrong is the former UK honorary consul in Guayaquil and police in Ecuador confirmed they are investigating an alleged criminal act against a businessman but did not name Mr Armstrong.

Mr Armstrong runs an agricultural supplies company in Ecuador.  In the 1980s he designed the pleasure ground Forbidden Corner in the Tupgill Park Estate which is now open as a visitor attraction.  Mr Armstrong’s family has lived on the 500-acre estate since Victorian times.

An Honorary Consul is a voluntary position that is appointed based on their extensive knowledge of a region and an established network that enables them to support British interests and to provide support to British Nationals who find themselves in difficulty.