American nurse, daughter freed by kidnappers in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — An American nurse and her daughter have been released nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped from the nonprofit aid agency where she works in Haiti, according to organization officials.

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In a statement posted online Wednesday, officials with El Roi Haiti said Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were released after being held hostage for days in Port-au-Prince. They asked that people refrain from contacting Dorsainvil or her family, saying, “There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation.”

Additional details on the circumstances surrounding their release were not immediately available. It was unclear Wednesday whether a ransom had been paid.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told CBS News that officials welcomed news of the release on Wednesday. The official declined to share information on the conditions of Dorsainvil and her daughter, deferring to their family.

“As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally,” the spokesperson said, according to CBS News. “We express our deepest appreciation to our Haitian, and U.S. interagency partners for their assistance in facilitating their safe release.”

Officials with El Roi Haiti said Dorsainvil first visited Haiti soon after an earthquake devastated the country in 2010. She became a school nurse with the nonprofit in 2020 and married the ministry’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil, one year later.

In a video posted on El Roi Haiti’s website, Alix Dorsainvil said she is from New Hampshire.

She and her child were kidnapped from El Roi Haiti’s ministry site near Port-au-Prince on the morning of July 27. Witnesses told The Associated Press that they were taken by armed men from a clinic in a gang-controlled part of the capital city.

Haiti has grappled with rising gang warfare since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, according to the AP. Abductions have become increasingly frequent and kidnappers often target Americans, prompting officials to urge most U.S. citizens to leave the nation.