An American nurse and her child on a humanitarian mission in Haiti have been freed two weeks after they were kidnapped and held hostage.
Faith-based group El Roi Haiti confirmed July 29 that Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped July 27 from the nonprofit's campus near Port au Prince. On Aug. 9, the nonprofit announced that Ms. Dorsainvil and her child were safely released after being held hostage in the capital city.
Ms. Dorsainvil is originally from Middleton, N.H., and married to the founder and director of El Roi Haiti, Sandro Dorsainvil. She has been operating a children's clinic for El Roi Haiti. Witnesses told The Associated Press that Ms. Dorsainvil was working in the small brick clinic when armed men burst in and seized her.
Captors demanded $1 million in ransom, the AP reported. It is not clear if a ransom payment was made.
"There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation, so we are asking that no attempts be made to contact Alix or her family at this time," El Roi Haiti noted on its website, where it will "release information as appropriate."
Port au Prince has experienced an increase in kidnappings and killings of civilians in recent weeks, at least 40 people abducted and 75 murdered between May and mid-July.
The State Department issued a travel advisory for Haiti July 27, ordering nonemergency embassy personnel and their families to evacuate and advising all U.S. citizens in Haiti to leave as soon as possible.