The Christian Aid Ministries organization complex in Haiti two weeks after the kidnapping of 17 people, a group of North American missionaries and their families, in Titanyen on October 16. A spokesman said 12 of the missionaries escaped from their captors on Dec. 15. File Photo by Orlando Barria/EPA-EFE
Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Ohio-based missionaries who were held captive by Haitian gang members since October were not freed last week but made a daring, nighttime escape across rugged terrain until a stranger called for help, officials said Monday.
Officials with Christian Aid Ministries described the night of the escape on Dec. 15 during a news conference in Millersburg, Ohio, where the organization is located. The adult captives decided they had a path to escape after days of observing the kidnappers and the area around them.
The missionaries and family, which included a toddler and 3-year-old, waited for a quiet period under darkness to pry open a door and leave the compound they were held in single file. Spokesman Weston Showalter said the rest was in "God's hands" as they walked about 10 miles before dawn broke, coming upon a local resident who contacted authorities for them.
"When they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked, filed silently to the path that they had chosen to follow and quickly left the place that they were held despite the fact that numerous guards were close by," Showalter said, according to WKYC-TV.
"In the distance, they could see a mountain feature that they had recognized and identified in the previous days. They identified this landmark before and they knew that this was the direction they needed to go. They also followed the sure guidance of the stars as they journeyed through the night, traveling toward safety."
The notorious Haitian street gang 400 Mawozo kidnapped the 17 missionaries and their families on Oct. 16 outside of the capital Port-au-Prince. The kidnappers had asked for $1 million for each hostage before releasing two on Nov. 22 and three others on Dec. 5.
Once Haitian authorities found the escaped missionaries, they took them to catch a U.S. Coast Guard flight to Florida where they were reunited with the other released hostages. Ministries officials declined to comment on if any ransom was paid for the hostages who were freed.
Showalter said while they would like to continue their missionary and orphanage work in Haiti, they are currently taking a pause.
