The family of Chris Baghsarian, who was kidnapped by mistake from his Sydney home last week, say they are “living through a nightmare” and the 85-year-old’s abduction “feels surreal”.

Baghsarian was alone in his North Ryde home when he was taken and bundled into a dark-coloured SUV on Friday morning, allegedly by underworld figures.

Police say it was a case of mistaken identity and they hold grave concerns for the grandfather, who needs daily medication.

“Our family is living through a nightmare we never thought possible,” his relatives said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“Chris’s kidnapping feels surreal, and we are struggling to make sense of the fact that he has been taken and that our family has been caught up in something that has nothing to do with us.

“Chris is a devoted father, brother, uncle, and grandfather. He is deeply loved, gentle, and the kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly.”

The family, in their statement released through NSW police, requested privacy as they waited “for some form of closure or resolution”.

“This is an extraordinarily distressing time, and we need space to support one another and focus on navigating what comes next.

Det Acting Supt Andrew Marks said on Monday that police believed Baghsarian was still alive.

“This is not a typical crime,” he said at the time. “The offenders have got the wrong person. They were intending to take somebody but … they have kidnapped the wrong person.”

Marks said Baghsarian’s family hadn’t received any ransom.

“In a normal kidnapping case, we would be aware of a ransom. But because the family are not involved in this type of crime, and they’re not involved in that world, they haven’t received a ransom.”

Marks said police were “one million per cent confident” the kidnappers had taken the wrong man. He wouldn’t comment on who the intended victim might have been.