Burnt-out Toyota may be linked to missing 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian

Nearly 10 days after the kidnapping of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian, NSW Police are appealing to the public for information relating to suspicious car fires last Tuesday in Westmead that could be linked to his kidnappers.

It comes as police scoured bushland in Glenorie in Sydney’s north-west on Sunday afternoon in what they said was “part of an ongoing investigation” linked to the grandfather’s disappearance.

Baghsarian has been held hostage since February 13, when up to three men abducted him from his North Ryde home at about 5am in what police believe is a suspected case of mistaken identity.

Two vehicles were partially destroyed in suspicious fires on Good Street, Westmead, at about 11.30pm on Tuesday, February 17.

NSW Police said detectives were able to establish that the targeted vehicle was a 2022 Toyota Corolla bearing Victorian registration “1UZ2BU”, reported stolen from a Victorian address on January 13.

Investigators from Strike Force Chobat believe the decimated Toyota in the images are related to a crime scene established at a Dural property in north-west Sydney where, police believe, Baghsarian’s kidnappers may have held him hostage for some time over the past 10 days.

After reports that two vehicles were alight, Cumberland Police Area Command attended the location, not far from Parramatta Aquatic Centre, along with Fire and Rescue NSW, who extinguished the blaze.

This masthead reported last week that the Dural property was a “stronghold” used by kidnappers to hold an elderly man hostage. It matched images circulated throughout Sydney’s underworld showing the 85-year-old being tortured, as police admit hope of finding him alive is fading.

Police have issued several direct pleas to the kidnappers to return Baghsarian, who requires daily medical treatment and medication.

Baghsarian’s family said in a statement this week that he was deeply loved and a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather.

“The kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly,” the family said in a statement released by NSW Police last Tuesday.

“Chris’ kidnapping feels surreal, and we are struggling to make sense of the fact that he has been taken, and that our family has been caught up in something that has nothing to do with us.

“We are living through a nightmare we never thought possible.”

Anyone who may have seen or heard anything, or has CCTV, dashcam and or mobile footage relating to the kidnapping, or witnessed any sort of suspicious activity in the Westmead area since last Friday is urged to contact detectives.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au. Information is managed on a confidential basis. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.