A harrowing escape plan by a group of missionaries from Ohio, earned them their freedom after being held captive for nearly 2 months in Haiti.
Officials with Christian Aid Ministries held a press conference Monday morning.
“After discussing their plans, the group felt they should escape on the night of Wednesday, Dec. 15,” spokesman Weston Showalter said during a press conference. “They made plans as they could, but ultimately placed their situation in God’s hands, depending on him for protection and guidance.”
The press conference was the first time that Christian Aid Ministries had detailed the events of the kidnapping.
“They decided if specific things didn’t happen at specific times that they had determined as a group, they would accept that as God’s direction to wait,” Showatler said of their escape.
The missionaries put on their shoes and planned for the right time to make their escape.
“When they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked, filed silently to the path that they had chosen to follow and quickly left the place that they were held despite the fact that numerous guards were close by,” Showalter said.
“In the distance they could see a mountain feature that they had recognized and identified in the previous days. The group remembered this indicator before and they knew that this was the direction they needed to go. They also followed the sure guidance of the stars as they journeyed through the night, traveling toward safety.”
The group included hostages as young as 10 months old.