It’s apparently true that Phoenix endures about a kidnapping a day, though as I have written before it’s not clear how reliable the figures are; whether they apply just to Phoenix or include the rest of Maricopa County; how many others go unreported; and so on.

It sees that the kidnappings are almost exclusively related to drug trafficking in town, and by extension to Hispanics, creating a hidden class of victims that almost never get referenced in the papers.

It seems random when the crimes do get covered. There’s a story about one in today’s Republic, a five-graf affair with practically no information, not even the victim’s name. Isn’t there a kidnapping like this every day in the Valley? Why is this one getting ink? Would the story be treated this way if the victims were Paradise Valley residents?

Phoenix Police have arrested two men who they say held a 26-year-old man ransom for two days.

Police said the victim was apparently kidnapped by men he knew on Wednesday. The kidnappers immediately began calling the victim’s girlfriend demanding money for his return, said Luis Samudio, a Phoenix police spokesman.

He said the men gave the girl directions how to wire money to their account in Mexico.

After two days of calls, the girlfriend arranged for the victim to be returned with the help of detectives. Investigators on Friday arrested two men, ages 29 and 43.

Police did not say how the men knew each other. Information on the victim’s condition and how he was released was unavailable.