TAKING FLIGHT

Haiti Missionaries Made Daring Night Escape From Captors

A group of 12, including an infant and a 3-year-old, walked miles by moonlight to reach safety following a two-month ordeal in captivity.

A dozen captive missionaries walked to freedom last week, zigzagging across treacherous terrain by moonlight after sneaking past their captors. The group, with an infant and a 3-year-old child in tow, reached safety on Wednesday by following “the sure guidance of the stars,” an official with Christian Aid Ministries said on Monday. It had been previously reported on Thursday that the missionaries, 12 of a flock of 17 kidnapped two months ago, had been freed by the 400 Mawozo gang. The other five had been released over the past month. The 400 Mawozo gang initially demanded millions of dollars in ransom; it remains unclear if any money exchanged hands. “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,” a spokesperson for the church agency said on Monday. After walking 10 miles “through woods and thickets,” the group were able to find someone to make a phone call on their behalf. Hours later, they were aboard a Coast Guard flight to Florida.