[Image: Fellowship Baptists Church / Facebook]
Kidnappers have demanded a ransom for the safe return of US missionary Josh Sullivan, who was abducted at gunpoint during a church service on Thursday last week.
Josh Sullivan of Tennessee was reportedly taken by armed men, who knew his name, at a church in Motherwell, near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, the Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee said on its Facebook page.
The incident unfolded at about 7 PM when the pastor of the church “was allegedly confronted by at least four unknown armed suspects during a church service,” the suspects forcing the minister into his own vehicle and fleeing. The car was later discovered abandoned about a kilometre from the church.
News24 reports that on Saturday, the kidnappers demanded an undisclosed ransom from the pastor’s family.
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Lt. Gen. Avele Fumba of the South African Police Service confirmed the incident, saying that the Hawks are investigating the alleged kidnapping: “In response to the incident, a multidisciplinary task team consisting of various specialized police units was activated. The team is currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators.”
While the police have not officially released the identity of the kidnapping victim, Sullivan’s mother, Tonya Rinker, confirmed that her son is the pastor who was abducted.
“As a mother, you never think about something like this happening to your child, but faith carries you through the uncertainty,” Rinker told ABC News in a statement.
A US State Department spokesperson said they’re aware of reports of a US citizen being kidnapped in South Africa.
According to a biography on what appears to be Sullivan’s website, he describes himself as a “church-planting missionary to the country of South Africa” who arrived in South Africa in November 2018 with his wife, Meagan, and their children to run Fellowship Baptist’s Motherwell church.
Over the past decade, there has been a 264% increase in kidnappings in South Africa, according to police statistics.
Let’s hope the pastor gets released unharmed.
