Windstar hood won't latch - 1998 Ford Windstar

SOURCE: 98 crown victoria hood won't latch

Let's starts at the beginning, inside the car. When you pull the release cable, is it moving freely? Sometimes cables dry up. This may be your issue. You can buy "cable ease" which is a graphite lube. *Its can be messy so be careful and bring plenty of rags!!!* Follow the directions on the package and you should do fine.
Under the hood you have 2 latches, the one which holds it closed tight and another attached to the little handle that's under the hood. The one that holds it tight is the one attached to the cable/handle inside. Find the latch and spray it with a penetrating oil (WD40 or Blaster work well for me) You may want a friend's help for this part. You'll want to spray it, trigger the mechanism with a screwdriver or similar and then have a friend pull the handle inside. You'll need to repeat this a number of times until the mechanism is moving freely. I recommend spraying the latch with white (lithium) lube to protect it and keep this from happening again. You can spray and move the secondary latch in a similar manner to fix and maintain it.
*** I'd recommend trying the latches under the hood first***
Out of the two, I've found it more likely the source of the problem and easier to fix as well. Good luck and please let me know how you made out!