American missionary pilot kidnapped in Niger

Armed men abducted American missionary Kevin Rideout 100 yards from the presidential palace in Niger’s capital of Niamey, according to the missionary security group Concilium. The unidentified assailants kidnapped him on Monday night and were suspected of taking him to the Tillaberi region in western Niger, according to African security analysis website Zagazola. Nigerien authorities searched for him in collaboration with international partners, according to the website.

Rideout had served as a missionary pilot with Serving In Mission International since 2010, according to Zagazola. He worked for the mission group’s local affiliate, Missionary Flights International.

How did the U.S. government respond? U.S. embassy officials, as well as other government staffers, were working with local authorities to support the safe recovery of a kidnapped American, a State Department spokesperson told WORLD in an email.

Following Rideout’s abduction, the U.S. Embassy in Niamey also warned that all American citizens were at a heightened risk of kidnapping, and it began requiring its staff to travel in armored vehicles. It also instituted a mandatory curfew and banned staff from restaurants and open-air markets. At least 14 foreign citizens were kidnapped in Niger this year, with several taken by the local branch of the Islamic State terror group, according to a translated post from the Wamaps West African news website.

Dig deeper: Read my report on a Zion Church member’s nine-day lockup in China.