US News
American couple held for ransom in Haiti released nearly a month later
After being held for ransom for nearly a month in Haiti, a Florida couple was released Thursday after negotiations with their kidnappers, the Haitian National Police and the couple's family told ABC News.
Jean-Dickens Toussaint and Abigail Toussaint, who were visiting relatives in Haiti, were kidnapped on March 18 while Traveling on a bus from Port-au-Prince, according to their family members.
"They stopped the bus at a stop and they asked for the Americans on the bus and their escorts to come off the bus and then they took them," Christie Desormes, the couple's niece, told ABC Affiliate WPLG last month.
MORE: American couple being held at ransom in Haiti, family says: 'We told them not to go'
The family initially learned about the ransom demands after the friend escorting the Toussaints contacted his relatives, Desormes said.
The family paid the kidnappers' $6,000 demand but they then raised the price to $200,000 per person, according to Desormes.
The exact details of the conditions of the couple's release weren't immediately revealed. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. embassy.
MORE: Video American couple kidnapped for ransom in Haiti
The Touissants, both 33, have a 2-year-old son, but he wasn't with them during the trip, according to relatives.
The State Department advises Americans not to Travel to Haiti "due to kidnapping, crime, and civil unrest."
ABC News' Meredith Deliso and Desiree Adib contributed to this report.
9 Celebrity Vacation Spots That Hollywood A-Listers Can’t Get Enough Of
JJ Redick Explains Why He’s Giving Up On D’Angelo Russell
Puerto Rico in the Premier12: Calendar, games, scores, roster and players
What Trump’s Win Means for the World
What's in a hook? | The Express Tribune
Here Are the Historic Wins of the 2024 Election
What Trump’s Win Means for His Legal Cases
-
US News1h agoFed to Cut Interest Rates to Address Inflation, Amid Uncertainty After Trump’s Election
-
US News1h agoDefending the Truth in a Second Trump Term
-
US News12h agoWhat Trump’s Win Means for Crypto
-
US News18h agoWhat to Know About the Russia-Linked Bomb Threats in Battleground States on Election Day
-
US News1d agoSevere Storms in Oklahoma Injure at Least 11 People and Leave Thousands Without Power
-
US News3d agoMore Than a Month Later, Communities Struggle to Rebuild After Hurricanes Helene and Milton
-
US News5d agoWhat to Know About the Suspect Behind Ballot Box Fires in the Northwest
-
US News6d agoSupreme Court Allows Virginia to Resume Its Purge of Voter Registrations