reporter: mr. so didn t say. meanwhile fbi agents in the philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf s strongholds basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they d been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. we travelled to basilan to talk with politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. reporter: heiko had the fbi to help, but government money? no. they don t pay ransom. the government doesn t pay ransom. any decisions regarding ransoms are really made by the family. no choice. i want to make sure they re safe. reporter: the week after the kidnapping heiko wired a ransom payment. close to five thousand dollars to a bank account in the philippines. i was thinking, pay them money and it s over.
kidnapping heiko wired a ransom payment, close to $5,000, to a bank account in the philippines. i was thinking, pay them money and it s over. but they started wanting more and more and more. reporter: more weeks went by. mr. so reduced his demands from $10 million to $2 million. then $1 million. still impossible, of course. so the kidnappers turned up the heat. they put kevin on the line. dad! yeah. how are you doing over there? are you there? we need you to send the money. i know that, and i m ready, but all i have over here i will send, and they know it. dad! dad, just send the money. that s all they want. reporter: heiko maxed out his credit cards, borrowed money from whomever he could. but it never seemed to be enough. as the incident grows from weeks into months, we end up with so many boards that we have to work our way down this hallway.
philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf s strongholds basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they d been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. we travelled to basilan to talk with the politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. reporter: heiko had the fbi to help. but government money? no. they don t pay ransom. the government doesn t pay ransoms. right. any decisions that are made regarding ransoms are really made by the family. but it was actually to me no choice. i know i want to pay something. just to make sure they re safe. reporter: the week after the kidnapping heiko wired a ransom payment, close to $5,000, to a bank account in the philippines. i was thinking, pay them money and it s over. but they started wanting more
and while we re doing them we re going to write notes down and pass them to heiko. he would read it and hopefully introduce it to the conversation. where s my wife? can i talk to her? if she s okay? where s my son? yeah, no, uh, your son is she with you? can i talk to them? i want to know if they re okay. reporter: mr. so didn t say. meanwhile, fbi agents in the philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf s strongholds basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they d been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. we travelled to basilan to talk with the politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. reporter: heiko had the fbi to help. but government money? no. they don t pay ransom. the government doesn t pay ransoms. right. any decisions that are made regarding ransoms are really made by the family. but it was actually to
reporter: mr. so didn t say. meanwhile, fbi agents in the philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf s strongholds basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they d been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. we travelled to basilan to talk with the politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. reporter: heiko had the fbi to help. but government money? no. they don t pay ransom. the government doesn t pay ransoms. right. any decisions that are made regarding ransoms are really made by the family. but it was actually to me no choice. i know i want to pay something. just to make sure they re safe. reporter: the week after the kidnapping heiko wired a ransom payment, close to $5,000, to a bank account in the philippines. i was thinking, pay them money and it s over.