US woman freed, relatives still held

Manila: An American woman was released by her abductors after two and a half months of captivity, but her 14-year-old son and nephew remained with their kidnappers in the southern Philippines, sources said.

Policemen picked up Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, 42, when they saw her walking aimlessly in Maluso town, Basilan Island, hours after she walked from a wharf where her abductors had released her by boat late on Sunday night, a source working for a mayor in Basilan told Gulf News yesterday.

Medical condition

Haggard-looking Lunsmann was brought to a military hospital in Zamboanga City on Sunday night. Her medical condition was not revealed, the source said, adding that Lunsmann was presented to the media before she was turned over to the agents of the (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday.

She told the authorities that her son Kevin, 14, and nephew Romnick Jackaric, were not released by the kidnappers, the source said.

"Local government officials and Muslim elders are now negotiating for the release of the two captives. The release of Lunsmann was due to efforts of many local government leaders," Celso Lobregat, Mayor of Zamboanga City, told Gulf News.

The husband of Lunsmann in Virginia reportedly received a call from a mobile phone that was traced to Basilan, and the caller reportedly demanded a $10 million (Dh36.7 million) ransom for the release of the three hostages.

Manila's US Embassy commended Mayor Lobregat's "personal engagement" in the release of Lunsmann, adding, "We [also] commend the diligent, professional and effective efforts of everyone involved in securing [her] release."

Diligent efforts

Lobregat did not identify the group behind the kidnapping.

Lunsmann, a veterinarian in Virginia, was born in the southern Philippines, and was adopted by an American couple when she was 12. She married an American national of German descent.

On July 12, Lunsmann, her son, and nephew were abducted by armed men in the resort that she was building on Tabon Island, off Zamboanga City. The Abu Sayyaf group is still holding in captivity three foreigners — an Indian, a Japanese and a Malaysian.