Kevin Rideout was kidnapped in Niger last year and no group has claimed responsibility
Published 14 Aug, 2026 10:44
| Updated 14 Aug, 2026 11:45
© Wikimedia / Magharebia / CC BY 2.0
An American missionary abducted in Niger last year has been released after spending more than nine months in captivity, the Christian organization Serving In Mission (SIM) said on Friday.
“Kevin is in good health and is currently in the care of US officials,” the group said, adding that he is expected to reunite with his wife Krista, their children, and other relatives shortly.
Rideout, a missionary pilot, was kidnapped in the capital, Niamey, on October 21, 2025. According to reports at the time, three unidentified men seized him before apparently taking him out of the city.
No group publicly claimed responsibility for the abduction, and the circumstances surrounding his release, including who held him and whether any deal was reached to secure his freedom, remain unclear.
Shortly after Rideout disappeared, the US Embassy warned American citizens that the threat of kidnapping extended across Niger. According to Reuters, US efforts to locate the missionary reportedly stretched beyond the African state, with Washington seeking to restore intelligence-gathering capabilities in neighboring Mali amid suspicions that Rideout may have been held there.
The kidnapping came amid persistent security problems across Niger and the wider Sahel, where armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Islamic State have operated for years. Foreign nationals have increasingly become targets: an Austrian woman was abducted in Agadez in January 2025, two Chinese nationals were kidnapped the following month, and a Swiss woman was seized from her home in Agadez in April.
In another high-profile case, two employees of a Russian geological exploration company were freed in neighboring Mali in April after spending nearly two years in captivity. They were abducted in Niger’s Tillaberi region in July 2024 by JNIM, an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
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In July, the US State Department maintained its highest-level travel warning for Niger, designating the country Level 4 – ‘Do Not Travel’ – due to terrorism, kidnapping, crime, unrest, and health risks. Washington specifically warned that “terrorist groups continue planning kidnappings of foreigners in Niger.”
