Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Haiti, Feb 18, (THAINDIAN NEWS) On Wednesday, 8 out of the 10 American missionaries who were accused of child abduction were set free when a Haitian judge announced their release. 10 American missionaries were arrested and they were detained at Port-au-Prince jail. The leader of the group called Laura Silsby as well as another woman, Charisa Coutler, are still in custody as they would face further questions for the alleged attempt of kidnapping 33 children in Haiti.

According to sources, almost 3 weeks after the arrest, the judges came up with their decision of releasing 8 missionaries. The missionaries had apparently planned to set up an orphanage in Dominican Republic and take all the 33 children to that orphanage. However, confusion rose earlier when it was found out that most of the children who they supposedly tried to rescue, had parents. Later on, some of the parents of the children had come to court. They reportedly said they voluntarily wanted to send their children to the orphanage and they appealed for the release of the American missionaries. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said that the missionaries were released after the parents of the children confirmed that the missionaries had no faults.

Charisa Coutler, one of the members of the group reportedly suffers from diabetes. Reports indicate that she was taken to a hospital by the authorities. However, further reports on her health conditions are not yet known.

According to Lt. Kenneth Scholz of the U.S. Southern Command, the plane carrying the 8 missionaries landed at around 12.04 a.m. on Thursday. 7 out of the 8 missionaries reportedly checked in to a hotel adjoining the airport. They ignored the reporters who were waiting for their arrival.