KANUNGU – American tourist Kimberly Sue Endicott and her tour guide, who were abducted in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park on Tuesday, have been rescued by security forces, a government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo said Sunday evening.
“Both were rescued from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are safely back in Kanungu district in Uganda,” said Ofwono Opondo.
“They are back at the lodge and she is expected to be in Kampala tomorrow.”
Opondo said the kidnappers fled the scene of the rescue when law enforcement officers and soldiers moved in.
Ugandan police had said Thursday that an armed gang kidnapped Endicott and her driver at gunpoint from the national park and had made frequent demands for a $500,000 ransom.
“They [the abductors] continue to use cell phones of the victims to call the lodge [where] they were staying asking for $500,000 ransom, which we will not offer,” police deputy spokesperson Polly Namaye said.
The two were abducted at gunpoint while on a game drive on Tuesday evening, the Tourism Board and Ugandan police said in a statement.
Four other people were taken at the same time, but they were freed while Endicott and her driver were taken from the park, officials said.
