Elksteine Kidnap False Alarm: Brown Feels the Wrong Bern

The reported kidnapping of Bernard Elksteine has proven to be a case of mistaken identity.

Having claimed to have tracked and captured the elusive Bernard Elksteine, wanted in Australia for over $64 million in bad debts and unpaid taxes stemming from his failed Rebound Table Tennis initiatives, and accusations of having faked his own death, Tara Brown has been left red-faced again after it was revealed she had in fact kidnapped former Formula 1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone.

Kidnapped: Bernie Ecclestone

Holidaying in Brazil during the Formula 1 summer break, the still-connected Ecclestone was out for a brisk stroll in downtown Rio when the 60 Minutes crew struck.  Bagged and dragged into a van, the 85-year-old was hauled away and smuggled onto a Melbourne-bound plane.

Arrested at Tullimarine Airport upon arrival, Tara Brown was interviewed by Police and released on bail, partly on the basis that it appeared she genuinely didn't know the difference between Bernie Ecclestone and Bernard Elksteine.

Brown admitted to "not being much of a sports fan" and that she was more interested in "Bringing some bastard to justice", after her past kidnapping-for-charity efforts had backfired.

Bernie Ecclestone was taken to South Yarra Hospital for a check up and was later released.  Declining to press charges, Ecclestone told the gathered media, "It's not the first time I've been grabbed by a lady that way.  I'm retired nowadays, so I've got time for these things".

Ecclestone noted he would take the opportunity to spend some time in Melbourne, the first he would spend outside the period of an Australian Grand Prix.  He pledged to visit Albert Park to see what it looked like as a park, and hadn't ruled out Tara Brown's invitation to dinner, though he noted he would take his personal security staff along once they and his baggage had arrived from Rio on his private jet.

Bernard Elksteine remains officially listed as deceased with the Australian Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages, despite the 2015 revelation that the body buried in his supposed grave was scientifically proven not to be that of the rebounding entrepreneur.

Whether this latest incident is pure coincidence, or may have been instigated by a genuine lead towards a living Elksteine, only time will tell.  The mystery remains unsolved six years after Bernard Elksteine was reported dead.