KPLU Local News
(2010-02-18)
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Paul Thompson of Twin Falls, Idaho, and other unidentified American missionaries charged with child kidnapping, wait at the tarmac of the international airport in Port-au-Prince.
(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
Full story
The Haitian judge says the eight missionaries are free to leave Haiti. Six of them are from Idaho. They're part of a delegation that tried to take 33 Haitian children from earthquake-stricken Port-au-Prince to their church's orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Authorities say they didn't have the right documents. But the judge says he released the missionaries because the parents of many of those children admitted they willingly gave up their kids.
The attorney for the eight told the Associated Press says the group was due to fly from Haiti Wednesday night. But two, Laura Silsby and Charissa Coulter, are still in custody. The judge says he still has questions for them.
Relatives of the freed prisoners in Idaho say they're relieved and anxious to see their loved ones.
Meanwhile, American authorities are said to be searching for a man who initially helped the missionaries after their capture. He's accused of luring young women into prostitution in El Salvador.
I'm Doug Nadvornick reporting. © Copyright 2012, N3
