Tuesday, 23 Apr 2024

Calif. Woman and Safari Guide Kidnapped in Uganda Found Safe: Officials

The American tourist who was kidnapped for ransom along with her tour guide in a Ugandan national park last week has been rescued in “good health,” authorities said Sunday.

Kimberly Endicott, 56, of Costa Mesa, California, and Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo were freed from their captors with the help of the Uganda Police Force and sister security agencies, the Government of Uganda wrote in a statement shared on Twitter.

The police force later confirmed the rescue on social media as well, writing that the pair were “in good health and in the safe hands of the joint security team.”

Endicott and Remezo were found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, though their kidnappers managed to escape, government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo P’Odel wrote on Twitter.

President Donald Trump celebrated the rescue on Twitter, writing, “Pleased to report that the American tourist and tour guide that were abducted in Uganda have been released. God bless them and their families!”

Endicott and Remezo were on an evening game drive Tuesday through popular tourist destination Queen Elizabeth National Park when a group of armed men jumped on the vehicle, Uganda police said in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

An elderly couple was also in the vehicle, but managed to escape and alert the camp manager.

The kidnappers then used Endicott’s cell phone to demand a ransom of $500,000.

Authorities previously said they did not plan to pay the ransom, and it remains unclear if they did in order to secure Endicott’s release.

Endicott had long dreamed of traveling to Africa to see gorillas on safari, friend Pam Lopez told local station KTLA.

“I know she was planning this trip for a while, because it’s something that she’s always wanted to do,” Lopez told the news outlet. “This was always a big trip she wanted to take.”

“She had been posting pictures of her trip up until — it looks like two days ago, which brings it to Tuesday, which I believe is the day she got kidnapped,” Lopez said.

Source: Read Full Article

Related Posts