N.H. nurse, daughter ‘healthy and unharmed’
Released after abduction in Haiti, group says
Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were “healthy and unharmed” when they were released Tuesday, after the 31year-old nurse from New Hampshire and her child spent nearly two weeks in captivity following their abduction in Haiti on July 27, her employer said Thursday.
“We could not be more thankful for the safety of our dear sister, friend, and staff member,” El Roi Haiti Outreach International, the Christian humanitarian group that Dorsainvil works for, said in a statement on its website. “Alix is a remarkably resilient woman whose walk with God guides her deep love for her family and her passionate commitment to the Haitian people.”
On Wednesday, the group announced that Dorsainvil and her daughter, who were detained for 13 days, had been released but did not say how their release had been secured, or from whom. The group had said Dorsainvil and her daughter were taken from the nonprofit’s campus near Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, “while serving in our community ministry.”
The abduction stirred an outcry in Haiti and beyond.
“Thousands of Haitians united their voices and risked their lives to march for the release of Alix and her child as well as other Haitian captives,” the group said Thursday. “To the many people and communities in Haiti that expressed support for Alix and her daughter during this time, we want to say thank you for the courage you’ve shown in the midst of your own challenges.”
The group also thanked “private and public sector partners and resources who helped us navigate this crisis.”
“Concilium Inc., a faith-based global security ministry, provided crisis consultants whose critical guidance and support led us each step through the recovery process,” the group said.
The group also thanked “key US law enforcement and State Department representatives who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in support of Alix and her family.”
Dorsainvil is married to Sandro Dorsainvil, the group’s director.
Haiti has spiraled into turmoil and gang violence since the July 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse and a devastating earthquake the following month.
Officials said kidnapping victims “regularly include US citizens” and local police “generally lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”
Late last month, the State Department issued a “do not travel” advisory for Haiti and ordered all nonemergency government employees and their families to leave the country, citing widespread gang violence and attacks targeting US travelers.
American citizens were urged to evacuate “as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options.”
Officials said kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations, and families have paid thousands of dollars to get family members back. It wasn’t immediately known if anyone had paid a ransom to secure the release of Alix Dorsainvil and her child.