Lagos Nigeria — The family of Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel said Wednesday that they've recovered the car of the soccer player's kidnapped father, as police investigating his abduction promised to make a "breakthrough" in the case.

Mikel's brother Tony Obi told The Associated Press that Michael Obi's car was found in Jos in central Nigeria, where kidnappings remain rare but religious and ethnic violence routinely flares. Obi declined to offer any details about how the family knew where to find the car.

Mikel's family reported his father missing when he failed to make it home after leaving the office of his transportation company Friday in Jos. Mikel made a televised appeal for his father's release Monday after news of the kidnapping became public.

Meanwhile, Plateau state police commissioner Emmanuel Dipo Ayeni told the AP that he expected his officers and the family to resolve the abduction soon.