The Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) is looking into the possibility that a family feud might have been behind the Valentine's Day kidnapping of a three-year-old boy in Frankfield, Clarendon.

Police reports are that on Sunday, the toddler and his aunt were on their way to a shop when a car drove up and its occupants beckoned to the child. It is reported that the boy went over to the car and was taken away.

Further reports are that within an hour of the kidnapping, a ransom of $500,000 was demanded. After several hours of negotiation however, the ransom was reduced to a gold chain and $4,000. The boy was released on Tuesday about 6:30 p.m. He was dropped off unharmed at the gate of the Percy Junor Hospital in Spaldings.

Head of OCID, Superintendent Fitz Bailey, told THE STAR that the police are looking into the possibility that a feud between two families from the area might have caused the boy's kidnapping. He, however, did not divulge any further details.

The superintendent said investigations into the matter were ongoing, but said no arrests have yet been made.

This kidnapping is the latest in what seems to be an emerging trend. Just last week, the daughter of a doctor in May Pen, also in the parish, was kidnapped and money demanded from her family.

Though she was returned safely, her captors escaped with the ransom of $1m. A few weeks earlier, a St Andrew woman was taken from her family's car and a ransom later demanded. In all cases however, the victims were returned to their families unharmed.