East Vail man reported abducted

VAIL — In a scene seemingly straight out of a Hollywood screenplay, two armed men forced their way into an East Vail home Thursday night, kidnapped a man at gunpoint and stole his car while his horrified wife watched, police said.

Michael Moore, 35, who Vail police are describing as a longtime Eagle County resident, was abducted Thursday night at approximately 10 p.m. by two Hispanic males who had a handgun. With captive in tow, the men drove off in Moore’s dark, bluish green Mazda MX 6, police said.

Moore’s credit card was used in Denver Friday morning, Vail Police Detective Susan Douglas said, leading police to believe he may have been taken there.

Moore is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds and is employed as a painter. But right now the police admit they’ve got more questions than answers. The largest question seems to be why.

“We don’t have a motive yet,” said Douglas. “Once we can find Mr. Moore we can find a motive and find out why this happened.”

The alleged abductors forced their way into Moore’s apartment after he answered a knock on the door, Douglas said.

His wife notified police, who then issued a statewide notice for Moore and his vehicle. Seven officers were involved in the investigation Thursday and five continued investigating it Friday.

“It’s odd for Vail,” Douglas said. “It very much concerns us because we don’t have these in Vail.”

Moore’s wife, whom police declined to name, was taken to a safehouse. Police also did not disclose the exact location of the abduction.

Cliff Thompson can be reached at (970) 949-0555, ext. 450, or cthompson@vaildaily.com.