Long ago, I had a relative who was very high up in the Venezuelan Army. Three US oil men were taken hostage by rebels in the interior for ransom. He was teaching a class in counter insurgency and thought it was a terrible way to treat a tourist. So, he had his guys run sweeps through the jungle, which he was more than familiar with, to see if he could find them. It was training, or so he said. Sure enough they were found and released. They had been held captive for four months.