Jeffery Ray Woodke, 59, a Christian humanitarian worker in Niger since 1991, was kidnapped in the country's northern desert in October 2016 by militants aligned with the Islamic State terrorist group.
Jeffery Ray Woodke, 59, of McKinleyville, Calif., who was kidnapped in October 2016 while doing humanitarian missionary work in Niger, is still alive and in captivity.The family of an American hostage of ISIS in West Africa is facing a new worry after suffering through years of his captivity: the risk of ainfection and fears that his captors in the Sahara Desert may not be able to protect him in a vast, austere region where running water is rare, his wife told ABC News this week.
Addressing his captors directly, Els Woodke said,"I would say, please consider Jeff's age and what is going on in the world. It's not good to keep captives. Send him home." Precautions such as frequent hand-washing and use of disinfectants in the U.S. and Europe are not likely practical for the captors in such remote areas of the Sahara Desert where running water is scarce, said Els Woodke, who has lived in Niger with her husband and their sons.Jeffery Woodke will turn 60 this year and had manageable health issues at the time of his kidnapping in Niger. Those 60 and over with underlying health conditions are most susceptible to the coronavirus, according to the U.
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