A Florida couple who went to Haiti to visit sick relatives have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom, their family says.
Abigail and Jean-Dickens Toussaint were on their way to Leogan, about 27 miles west of Port-au-Prince, but never arrived. his family told NBC Miami. Nothing is heard from them since March 18.
His niece, Christie Desormes, told NBC Miami that a group ordered her aunt and uncle off a bus and have held them captive ever since. The family said that when they paid more than $2,000 of the $6,000 ransom demand, the kidnappers changed their deal.
“It’s a lot of emotions, it’s devastating, you feel angry that it happened and then you feel numb at the same time because it doesn’t feel real,” Desormes said.
Desormes urged the public to contact their state representatives for help in bringing his aunt and uncle home.
The US State Department said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday that the agency was aware of reports of two missing Americans in Haiti.
«When a US citizen goes missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts, and we share information with families as we can,» the statement said. «We have nothing more to share at this time.»
Pompano Beach’s First Haitian Baptist Church posted about the Toussaints Wednesday, asking their congregation to pray for the couple.
«Along with our prayers, we are also challenging our government officials to use their resources to bring these two back where they belong,» the church said.
The church also held an intercession on Friday night, where people were invited to pray for the Toussaints.