'The Young and the Restless' viewers suspect Mariah was kidnapped by Ian Ward

Who has Mariah?

Those who watch THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS are giving their opinions regarding who has kidnapped a very pregnant Mariah Copeland. The number one suspect is Ben "Stitch" Rayburn who showed up in Genoa City shortly before Sharon's daughter disappeared. He was also the last person to see her before she vanished and some fans of the CBS soap say this makes the prime suspect while others say it causes him to be too obvious.

Stitch is also a doctor which indicates Mariah would be in good hands if she should go into labor while being held against her will. There are a few other suspects as a small number of viewers think Nina is hiding her grandson's mother somewhere in the Chancellor mansion. There is no evidence to support this and now a third suspect has been suggested by viewers and he is Ian Ward.

Could Ian return?

Ward, (Ray Wise) was a cult leader who raped Nikki decades ago and let her believe that her son Dillon belonged to him. It was later revealed that Paul Williams was Dillon's father and that Ian was sterile. It eventually came to light that Ian had Mariah kidnapped as an infant and Sharon did not know she had given birth to twins. Mariah initially came to Genoa City to gaslight Sharon into believing she was seeing the ghost of her dead daughter Cassie. When she found out she was Cassie's twin, Mariah had a hard time accepting the truth.

Ian Ward returned to Genoa City and wreaked havoc including working with Adam against Victor and kidnapping Mariah who had been raised in his cult. He was last seen in 2016 while in jail at the same time as Victor. Is it possible that Ward got out of jail early for good behavior or that he escaped yet again? Could he have abducted Mariah for the third time and is he considering raising her child as his own? Anything is possible and a long as no clues are given to THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS viewers, they will continue to give their theories on what has happened to Ms. Copeland.

Clues

Mariah was shown last week in what appeared to be a hotel room that was nice but looked like it was from the 1960s or an old school bed and breakfast. She was locked in but being fed and given vitamins through a small door that connected to her room. She will soon miss her doctor's appointment and her clueless family will finally realize something is wrong. Stitch has been acting somewhat strange and he lied about getting the chief surgeon position at the hospital.

Ben caught in a lie

Nate revealed to Elena that he was hired for that job so THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS viewers know that he is lying. Everything seems to imply that Stitch is guilty without any real evidence. He might have applied for the job and has not yet been notified that he was rejected. If Ben kidnapped Mariah his motives are not clear but if it was Ian Ward everything would make sense. This entire storyline is frustrating viewers and definite answers are needed.

Clueless loved ones

It was not very believable that a pregnant Mariah simply took off without talking to anyone. Her cryptic texts should have been a big clue that something was wrong but everyone seemed to accept them without question. Tessa did have concerns but Nina and Abby talked her down each time. They wasted valuable time discussing how they could have made things easier on Ms. Copeland and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS fans were fuming over the clueless manner in which they all were behaving, even Devon.

Panic sets in

Once the upcoming doctor's appointment is missed everyone will be in panic mode but have no clue where to look. Whether the captor is Ian Ward, Ben Raburn, or someone else at some point THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS should give fans some clues. Perhaps they might show the kidnapper texting from Mariah's phone or show him or her purchasing prenatal vitamins. If Abby's surrogate is in a hotel or motel at some point someone should show up to clean the room.

At this point, she does not seem to know who her captor is but if this goes on much longer she will go into labor. Perhaps she might fake labor pains to bring the person who kidnapped her out into the open. If this continues, the Y&R fans will certainly come up with more suggestions as to who could have kidnapped Mariah and why. Be sure to stay tuned and pay close attention to clues that might reveal who has possession of Abby's surrogate. Some Y&R viewers are even suspecting that the silence from Chance could be related so be on the lookout for updates.