An American woman and her daughter have been kidnapped in Haiti, according to reports.
Alix Dorsainvil, a nurse for El Roi Haiti, and her child were abducted from the non-profit’s campus near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince last Thursday.
The US State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” in the country and ordered non-emergency personnel to leave amid security concerns.
Mrs Dorsainvil, from New Hampshire, served as El Roi’s school and community nurse. She is the wife of the Christian humanitarian aid organisation’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in the statement.
“Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.”
A US State Department spokesman said it was “aware of reports of the kidnapping of two US citizens in Haiti,” adding: “We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners.”
In its Haiti travel advisory, the department said that “kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include US citizens”. It also said that kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations and that previous US victims have been physically harmed.
WMUR-TV, the broadcaster, reported that Mrs Dorsainvil is from Middleton, New Hampshire, and went to Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Alix chose to get involved in this type of service work,” said Toni Hays, the president of Regis College. “She was amazing. She was passionate, she was compassionate.”
