Police: Ransom Plot Foiled in Calif.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A man charged with abducting a businessman's wife may have plotted to kidnap 15 other people and hold them for ransom, authorities said Monday.

Mark Herbert Warren, 47, was charged Friday with kidnapping for ransom, residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the abduction of a 57-year-old woman, whose name was not released.

The woman was found last week in the back of a van belonging to Warren, police spokesman Steven Frasher said. She was bound and a hood covered her head.

The vehicle contained a wooden box fitted with a twin mattress and a fan for ventilation. The walls of the box were padded with foam for …