US Teen Escapes Captives in Philippines
An American teenager, who was held hostage for five months, outsmarted his captors and roamed the jungle in the southern Philippines for nearly two days before he was found by local villagers.
Kevin Lunsmann, a 14-year-old form Lynchburg, Va., escaped from the suspected Al-Qaida militant group Abu Sayyaf. According to reports the teen had earned his captors trust and they allowed him to walk alone to a nearby river to take a bath. Once there he decided to make a run for it.
Army official Ricardo Visaya told AP the kidnappers are believed to be led by a militant, Puruji Indama. The group is also on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. Abu Sayyaf has in the past claimed responsibility for other kidnappings, beheadings and bombings.
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ABC news affiliate WSET spoke with the boy’s father, Heiko Lunsmann, who responded to the news of his son’s escape: "I can tell you a lot of things, but I only know that he is a hero.”
Over the summer Lunsmann was vacationing with his Filipino-American mother, Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, and his cousin Romnick Jakaria. The group was on an island near the city of Zamboanga when they were abducted.
The kidnappers had been in contact with the family. They released Lunsmann’s mother by dropping her off by boat on a wharf in Basilan nearly two months ago. This was after Heiko Lunsmann paid an undisclosed ransom to the captors, Jean Gowen, a friend close to the family told WSET-TV.
Lunsmann’s cousin was rescued when Filipino army forces moved in close to a camp where he was being held according to AP.
Gowen told WSET, "The deal was for them to release both Kevin and Gerfa at the time, but they only released one of them. I think they wanted more money."
"That was a tough time, it was tough five months," Heiko Lunsmann said in the first interview with ABC since his son was taken. "I only know he is a hero and I'm so happy he escaped."
"He was in fear so there was a bit of a chase before the villagers convinced him that they were friends," Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo told AP. He said the boy was fine, but “was exhausted and had bruises on his arms and feet.”
