Police searching for suspects who they say kidnapped, assaulted and caged an Anchorage man

Police are looking for four people who they say are involved in kidnapping and assaulting another man who arrived at an Anchorage hospital in an animal crate this week.

Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim said in a prepared statement Friday that a 34-year-old man last seen by his girlfriend Sunday afternoon arrived at a local hospital at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday.

Thim wrote that a preliminary investigation found the man had been kidnapped and taken to the 6500 block of Cimarron Circle, where he was bound and beaten in the garage of a home before being placed in the cage and taken to the hospital.

Officers who responded to the hospital asked staffers how the man arrived at the hospital and were directed to the driver, Thim said. That person spoke with police, and police believe they were not involved in the kidnapping and assault, he said.

Thim said in a phone interview Friday that the man is in critical condition.

Police said they are looking for four people: Macauther Vaifanua, 28, Faamanu Vaifanua, 27, and Jeffery Ahvan, 29, are each charged with kidnapping and first-degree assault. Tamole Lauina, 21, is charged with kidnapping.

Thim said officers were still trying to determine whether the victim and the accused had a relationship, and if they did, what it was. He said officers have enough information to believe that the incident was a targeted crime and not random.

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Police are also looking to identify and locate a fifth individual who is considered a "person of interest." Police wrote that the man was at the home during the assault. While police don't have the man's name, they released a photo of him obtained from evidence at the scene, according to Thim.

Police said they believe all five individuals are "armed and dangerous." Police encouraged the public to call APD immediately if they see the suspects or person of interest, and not attempt to make contact with the individuals.

Jerzy Shedlock contributed reporting.