Idaho man says 10 Americans held in Haiti after trying to take orphans across Dominican border

Idaho man says 10 Americans detained in Haiti

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man says 10 Americans on a mission to rescue orphans in Haiti have been detained in Haiti after trying to bring 33 children into the Dominican Republic.

Sean Lankford of the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian said Saturday that his wife and 18-year-old daughter are among those held. He says the 10 were taken into custody at the border Friday and were told they didn’t have the proper papers to take the children out of the country.

Lankford says the group had hoped to take the children to an orphanage they had set up at a Dominican hotel. He says the group thought they had the proper paperwork.

Lankford says U.S. officials on Saturday were working to locate the 10 church members. He says Idaho friends and relatives have been in touch with those detained via text message and phone calls.