Kevin Rideout was taken by armed men outside his home in West Africa last October. Now, after nearly a year of uncertainty, he is back in US custody, and his family is just asking for a little quiet to heal.
When someone vanishes into a lawless stretch of desert, the people left behind usually prepare for the worst. The days turn into months, and the silence just gets heavier. But sometimes, against all the odds, the phone finally rings.
Kevin Rideout, an American missionary and pilot, spent more than nine months in captivity in Niger. He was grabbed by three armed men right outside his home in the capital city of Niamey last October. They dragged him west toward the Tillaberi region, a dusty, dangerous area known as a hiding spot for militant groups tied to al-Qaeda.
For a long time, nobody knew if he was even alive. The US government warned its citizens to stay out of the country entirely. Rumors flew that he had been passed around between different armed factions in the bush.
Then, on Friday, the quiet broke. SIM International, the Christian group Rideout worked for, confirmed he was out. They called the release “incredibly good news.” He was in good health and sitting safely with US officials. The exact details of how he got out, or who exactly was holding the keys to his door at the very end, are still kept under wraps.
SEE ALSO: Tanzanian rangers arrested after man dies in national park
His family is breathing a massive sigh of relief. The organization released a short note saying his wife Krista and their kids are profoundly grateful for the prayers from around the world. But right now, they just want to be left alone. They asked for strict privacy so they can simply “reconnect after this time apart.”
Rideout had spent 19 years flying and working in Niger. He knew the roads and the risks. But the region has only grown more violent over the last decade, with military coups and armed groups taking over huge swaths of land across the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso.
He is safe now. But for the locals still living under the shadow of those same armed groups, the dirt roads are just as dangerous today as the morning he was taken.
