Workers for an Ohio-based missionary organization say an unidentified person made a ransom payment that freed three of their kidnapped colleagues from a Haitian gang in early December.
That ransom agreement was supposed to have led to the release of all 15 of the North American hostages. But ex-hostages and others say the gang reneged.
The person who paid the ransom was not affiliated with Christian Aid Ministries.
The workers said they don’t know the identity of the individual or how much was paid.
Ex-hostages have recently been telling church groups about their ordeal, which they said ended in a dramatic escape on Dec. 16.
Seventeen members of the group — 12 adults and five minors — were kidnapped in mid-October by the 400 Mawozo gang shortly after visiting an orphanage in Ganthier. The gang had demanded ransom for the group. Five of the hostages were previously released before the remaining 12 escaped last week.
The remaining members of the kidnapped group found freedom by breaking out of the house they were being held in during the night.
