Wives Of Hostages Leave India After 114 Days

The wives of a Spokane man and three other Westerners held hostage in the Himalayas are leaving India after a final plea Thursday for the kidnappers to release their loved ones unharmed.

The appeal came 114 days after the Al-Faran militant group kidnapped the tourists while they were trekking in the mountains in the northern state of Jammu-Kashmir.

The hostages are Donald Hutchings, 42, of Spokane; Keith Mangan,33, of Middlesborough, England; Paul Wells, 23, of London; and Dirk Hasert, 26, of Erfurt, Germany.

The statement by the women on their departure from India came amid reports of illnesses among the captives, who are being moved from place to place in the cold mountains.

The reports, which cannot be confirmed, suggest Hutchings is suffering from frostbite on his feet, that one hostage has an eye infection and that all have gastrointestinal disorders.

Negotiations between the Indian government and the kidnappers broke down about two weeks ago, but police quoting intelligence reports have said the hostages are safe.

The statement was signed by Hutchings’ wife, Jane Schelley of Spokane, and Anne-Katrin Hennig, Julie Mangan and Catherine Moseley.

, DataTimes