The United Nations says in a recent report that authorities registered 1,014 kidnappings in Haiti from January to June this year — 256 women, 13 girls and 24 boys, CNN reported.
New details are emerging about the abduction of Alix Dorsainvil, the American nurse who was kidnapped in Haiti last week with her young daughter, as a witness says they were seized by gunmen who stormed the clinic she was working in and demanded $1 million in ransom, according to reports.
A witness has now come forward recalling the moment the American nurse and her daughter were taken.
“When I saw the gun, I was so scared,” patient Lormina Louima told New York Post. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see this, let me go.'”
Dorsainvil, a New Hampshire native and the wife of El Roi Haiti director Sandro Dorsainvil, was working at El Roi Haiti, the Christian humanitarian aid organization and their clinic. She and her child were reportedly abducted Thursday morning while serving in their community ministry on El Roi Haiti’s campus near the capital city Port-au-Prince, according to a statement from the El Roi.
“We continue to work diligently with authorities and partners in the United States and Haiti to secure their freedom. Many people are laboring for their return, but currently we cannot share more specific details,” the statement from El Roi says on their website. “We are so thankful for all of the support that has been shown. Please continue to pray with us for the protection and freedom of Alix and her daughter. As our hearts break for this situation, we also continue to pray for the country and people of Haiti and for freedom from the suffering they endure daily.”
It’s unclear how old the couple’s child is, according to reports
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a briefing on Monday that the "the safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority."
He did not answer questions about any efforts being made to secure Dorsainvil and her daughter's release.
"We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities. We’ll continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners, but because it’s an ongoing law enforcement investigation, there’s not more detail I can offer," Miller added.
The Haitian National Police “is working on it,” Jean-Junior Joseph, a senior adviser to Haiti’s prime minister told USA Today.
Dorsainvil and her daughter went missing on the same day that the U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency embassy personnel and their families to evacuate Haiti due to a deteriorating security situation that has seen gangs take control of large parts of Port-au-Prince, USA Today reported.
The state department also advised all American citizens in Haiti to leave “as soon as possible” because of elevated risks from "kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure,” USA Today reported.
The United Nations says in a recent report that authorities registered 1,014 kidnappings in Haiti from January to June this year — 256 women, 13 girls and 24 boys, CNN reported.
The El Roi clinic where Dorsainvil and her daughter were abducted remains shut down and on Monday, protesters took to the streets of Port-au-Prince demanding the government take more action to find the two Americans and prevent further kidnappings.
