A Sydney father travelling to attend a music festival in Latin America has been found with 25 stab wounds on the roadside.
It was supposed to be the “trip of a lifetime” for Frank Stephen Ramirez, who is now fighting for life in Colombia, where he was reportedly thrown into the back of a car and kidnapped in what his terrified family have called a “brutal and senseless act of violence”.
Ramirez was attacked just after the Electric Daisy Carnival, an EDM music festival in Medellín, the nation’s mountainous northwest, which wrapped up on Sunday.
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“It was supposed to be a time of joy, music, and celebration. Instead, it became a horrific nightmare that has shattered our world,” the organiser of a GoFundMe fundraiser said.
“When they were done, they kicked him out of a moving car and left him in the street to die like he was nothing.
“By a miracle, the police found him just in time.
“Frank did not deserve this. He went to Colombia with nothing but positive energy to enjoy an event he loved. He has been robbed not just of his money, but of his safety, his health, and his peace of mind.”
“His body is covered in horrific injuries from the attack. He is all alone in a foreign country, thousands of miles from his family, facing this unimaginable trauma by himself.”
Ramirez’s wife and their young son are still in Sydney, and are devastated and “paralysed with fear”.
“We need to get his wife on a plane to Colombia immediately. She needs to be by his side. Frank is alone, terrified, and in critical condition,” the fundraiser said.
“His wife’s presence is not just a comfort — it is essential for his will to fight and for his recovery. The cost of last-minute international flights and accommodation for an indefinite period is more than the family can bear.”
‘Would give you the shirt off his back’
Ramirez’s loved ones have described him as a generous and loving family man.
“Frank is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back, a man who worked hard to build a beautiful life for his family in Sydney,” the fundraiser said.
“He is a devoted father to his son, a loving and dedicated husband to his wife, and a cherished friend to all who know him.
“His smile and beautiful soul light up every room he enters.”
His family now hope that the “compassion and love that Frank has always shown to others” will be returned to him.
“Please help us get his wife to his side. Help us ensure he can heal without the crushing weight of financial ruin. Help us show them that in their darkest hour, they are not alone,” the fundraiser said.
