The president of a chain of popular breakfast restaurants was kidnapped at gun point and then mysteriously released - and almost no one can figure out why.

Nicholas Tsouflidis was allegedly taken on Wednesday night just north of Montreal. He was found - alive and uninjured - later that night, bound in a ditch miles from where he was taken.

A witness said he found a man who claimed not to know where he was and repeatedly said he'd been kidnapped.

Tsouflidis was taken to hospital as a precaution but had no apparent injuries.

Police are currently investigating to corroborate his story, but what happened between his capture and his release remains a mystery.

Tsouflidis is president of Cora Group, a company that runs the hugely successful chain of Cora restaurants. There are more than 150 locations in Canada.

He is the youngest son of the restaurants founder, Cora Mussely Tsouflidou, and has been president since 2008.

While successful, the Tsouflidis family normally keeps a low-profile, making this bizarre story even weirder.