PORT au PRINCE, Haiti — New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her young child are safe after being released in Haiti almost two weeks after being kidnapped and held hostage there, according to the nonprofit El Roi Haiti where she worked.
Alix is a 2010 graduate of a Catholic high school, the St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, N.H., according to the school’s Facebook page. She reportedly lived in Middleton, N.H.
“It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port au Prince, Haiti,” a statement from El Roi Haiti, a Christian group, said Wednesday.
“There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation, so we are asking that no attempts be made to contact Alix or her family at this time. We will continue to release information as appropriate on our website. Please keep checking back. And again, thanks for all of the prayers and support through this incredibly difficult time. www.elroihaiti.com”
Dorsainvil who is married to the group’s founder and director, Sandro Dorsainvil, and their child, were kidnapped last month from the group’s location near Port-au-Prince.
The statement from El Roi Haiti doesn’t include any details about the kidnapping or how the mother and child were freed.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S. State Department said it welcomed news about the release and thanked its Haitian and U.S. interagency partners for facilitating the release.
“We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” the agency told the Associated Press. “As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally.” Officials provided no other details.
Full El Roi Haiti statement released Wednesday:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port au Prince, Haiti. Today we are praising God for answered prayer!
We are so thankful for everyone who joined us in prayer and supported us during this crisis. “El Roi” is a Hebrew name of the God of the Bible that means “the God who sees.” It is with that vision that we now rest upon God’s truth that, “In his kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation” (1 Peter 5:10). We praise God that He has proven Himself faithful as He restores, supports, and strengthens Alix and her family, the ministry of El Roi Haiti, and the community that Alix has impacted – and continues to impact – with her ministry in Haiti.
There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation, so we are asking that no attempts be made to contact Alix or her family at this time. We will continue to release information as appropriate on our website. Please keep checking back. And again, thanks for all of the prayers and support through this incredibly difficult time. www.elroihaiti.com