Two missionary hostages released.

Hart Dunkard Church members and community members gather during a prayer vigil in Hart last month, praying for the safe release of the hostages.
– OCP file photo

Two missionary hostages released.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Two of the 17 missionaries kidnapped by a violent gang in Haiti over a month ago have been released, according to Christian Aid Ministries, the Ohio-based organization that sponsored the mission.

A Shelby area woman and her four children are among those kidnapped. It is not presently known if any of the local people are the ones who have been released.

“We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released,” states the Christian Aid Ministries website in an update Sunday, Nov. 21. “Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for.

“We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released; the reasons for their release; where they are from; or their current location. We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information.

“We encourage you to continue to pray for the full resolution of this situation. While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the 15 people who are still being held.”

The local family belongs to Hart Dunkard Brethren Church on North 56th Avenue. 

The hostages had visited an orphanage in the Croix-des-Bouquets suburb prior to their abduction. They are being held in a location outside that suburb, which is controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang that captured them.

The father of the local children was back at the missionary camp in Haiti at the time of the kidnapping. He stayed back from the group’s trip to the orphanage, because he was writing a sermon for the next day’s service.

One of the captured children was 8 months old at the time of the kidnapping. The ages of the other abducted children are 3, 6, 13 and 15. The adults include six men and six women up to the age of 48.

The gang that snatched the missionary group demanded $17 million — $1 million per person — in ransom. 

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