SANTA MARIA, Calif. (NEWSnet/AP) — Authorities rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California, four days after he was kidnapped and held hostage.

Captors had threatened to harm him if his family did not pay a $500,000 ransom.

The teen was rescued Sept. 22, after law enforcement tracked him and his three kidnappers to a motel in Santa Maria about 140 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The ordeal began Sept. 18. Kidnappers caused a car crash in San Bernardino County, about 200 miles from Sant Maria, and abducted the teen when he got out of his vehicle to look at the damage, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. A doorbell camera recorded the kidnapping.

The kidnappers called the teen’s mother and demanded $500,000, saying it should be delivered to Nogales, Mexico, federal prosecutors said. The men called her repeatedly during the following three days, threatening to harm her son if the family did not pay.

Authorities found the boy lying on the floor in a corner of the motel room. The family did not pay the ransom, officials said.

The captors, three men in their 20s, were charged federally with kidnapping and could face life in prison if convicted. They were scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.

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