Police in southern Brazil say nine people taken hostage during the robbery of a jewelry factory have been located after a daylong search. The hostages were found unharmed late Sunday, but police on Monday are still combing a wooded area in the Rio Grande do Sul state for seven members of the gang behind the kidnappings, AP reported. The ordeal began early Sunday morning after the gang used explosives to blow the door off a jewelry workshop in the town of Cotipora. Police responded with firepower, killing three gang members, including the state's most wanted criminal. The remaining gang members fled, taking hostages. Brazilian news reports say the hostages were two men, six women and one 11-year-old girl.
