Tech exec's body found in BMW after abduction in Santa Cruz, officials say

Guardian staff and agencies
<span>Photograph: AP</span>
Photograph: AP

The 50-year-old owner of a California marketing company was abducted from his oceanfront home in Santa Cruz and later found dead near his white BMW, authorities say.

The Santa Cruz county sheriff’s office has released few details on the case. But on Tuesday, it reported it had received a 911 call early in the morning from the home of Tushar Atre, the owner of the digital marketing company Atre Net Inc.

Atre had been kidnapped from his home around 3am “during a crime”, the office said, and he was last seen getting into a white BMW SUV.

Deputies located the car on Tuesday afternoon in the Santa Cruz Mountains and found a body in the same location.

“We have some unfortunate news, we have found the car associated with this case along with a deceased person,” the office said in a Facebook statement on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday afternoon, the office confirmed the body found was identified as Atre. “We have reason to believe the motive was robbery,” a sheriff’s office statement on Facebook said.

Police are looking for at least two people in connection with the case, the local station KTVU reported on Tuesday.