Haitian kidnappers release children and American missionary
Haitian kidnappers release children and American missionary
By Associated Press
Published December 3, 2005
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Gunmen have released 14 Haitian children and an American missionary who were abducted in separate incidents, police said Friday.
The missionary, Phillip Snyder, was released Friday after a ransom was paid, said police Commissioner Francois Henri Doussous, head of Haiti's antikidnapping unit. He would not specify how much was paid but said it was "much less" than the $300,000 the kidnappers initially sought.
The gunmen released the children and their school bus driver unharmed Thursday night, hours after their bus was hijacked by gunmen on the way to school.
The kidnappings came five weeks before national elections to restore democracy to Haiti, which has seen a sharp increase in abductions amid the chaos following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.
Doussous said police did not believe the latest kidnappings were politically motivated. "This is purely criminal activity; the gangs need money," he said.
It was not immediately clear who paid the ransom for Snyder. Doussous said the kidnappers were members of criminal gangs based in Cite Soleil, a sprawling seaside slum.
Snyder, 48, was treated for a gunshot wound to his shoulder and released from a U.N. military hospital, police said. Snyder, the president of Glow Ministries International of Zeeland, Mich., was abducted Thursday.
A young boy kidnapped along with Snyder was freed and in good condition. The missionary had been helping the boy obtain a medical visa so he could have eye surgery, said the missionary's wife, Amber Snyder.
Haitian radio reported that an unspecified ransom was paid for the kidnapped children, but Doussous said the gunmen received no money. He said they released the hostages because of intense public attention and because police checkpoints prevented them from returning to Cite Soleil on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
The children were ages 5 through 17. There were no arrests.
