Police have zeroed in on a semi-rural property on Sydney’s fringe in the hunt for mistakenly kidnapped grandfather Chris Baghsarian.
On Thursday night, officers located a crime scene in Dural, which detectives believe Mr Baghsarian’s captors have been using as a base.
The 85-year-old has now been missing for a week.
“As part of ongoing efforts to locate Mr Baghsarian, a property in Dural was identified as a location believed to have been used as a makeshift stronghold by the kidnappers,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“About 7pm yesterday (Thursday 19 February 2026), strike force detectives executed a search warrant at the property on Wildthorn Avenue.”
Mr Baghsarian, 85, was snatched from his home in North Ryde about 5am last Friday in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
Police sources have previously told the ABC the kidnappers may have been intending to target someone with links to the Alameddine crime family who lived nearby.
Chris Baghsarian, 85, has now been missing for a week as police focus on a “makeshift stronghold” in Dural. (Supplied: NSW Police)
It comes as disturbing footage began circulating showing Mr Baghsarian tied up and being assaulted by his captors.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Baghsarian’s family said they were “struggling” as they awaited “some form of closure or resolution”.
Forensic officers have spent overnight searching the property in Dural. (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)
“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,” the family said.
“Chris is a devoted father, brother, uncle, and grandfather.
“He is deeply loved, gentle, and the kindest person we know — someone who would never hurt a fly.”