The FBI’s Honolulu office is denying reports that it is involved in the investigation into the alleged kidnapping and beating of an Australian pro golfer in Hawaii over the weekend.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Robert Allenby was “meeting with the FBI” about the attack, which he said left him bruised and battered on the side of the road.
However, a spokesman for the FBI’s Honolulu
office told BuzzFeed News that federal authorities are not involved in
the case. Special agent Tom Simon said the FBI doesn’t investigate
kidnappings that don’t involve crossing state lines.
Simon said he believes the confusion arose from the fact that a
former FBI agent works with the PGA tour on security matters in the area
and is likely helping with the case.“Absent any new info this is not an FBI matter,” he said.
KHON2 reported that the Honolulu Police Department is investigating the case as second-degree robbery. The department did not return requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.
Allenby told the Golf Channel that he had gone to the Amuse Wine Bar in Honolulu with a friend and his caddie on Friday night after he was cut from the Sony Open.
Hugh Gentry / Via AP
Allenby said he struck up a conversation about golf with people who appeared to be fans of his at the bar.
“They were talking golf,” he told the Golf
Channel. “They were big golf fans, big Robert Allenby fans. So, yeah,
obviously I was just a target.”
Allenby said he left the bar after being separated from his caddie and friends, and was attacked outside.He said he was robbed and eventually thrown from the car about six miles from the bar. He said he was then helped by a homeless woman and a Navy veteran, who helped him piece together what had happened and get help.
“I’ve watched Taken, Taken 2 and this was pretty much a spitting image,” he said, referring to the movie series about an international kidnapping.
KHON2 reported that sources confirmed that Allenby was at the Amuse Wine Bar on Friday night and several other days last week.
According to the sources, Allenby ordered two bottles of wine and was with a large group of people.
