It was toward the end of a small press conference in the Fireplace Room of Arcata First Baptist Church, where McKinleyville’s Jeffery Woodke was offering his first public remarks since being freed March 20 after being held hostage by kidnappers in Western Africa, when a local reporter rose to ask […]
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North Coast Journal: ‘I Was a Hostage’: McKinleyville’s Jeff Woodke Talks About His Six Years Held by Al-Qaeda in Africa
In his own words, McKinleyville’s Jeffrey Woodke was held captive “a long time.” “Six years, five months, five days and 12 hours, give or take a few minutes, I was hostage,” he told a handful of reporters this afternoon in the Fireplace Room of Arcata First Baptist Church during a […]
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Jeffery Woodke Post-Release Press Conference
On Friday, March 31, 2023, McKinleyville, Calif., missionary Jeffery Woodke addressed reporters 11 days after his release from captivity in Niger, where he had been held hostage for six years, five months, five days and 12 hours.
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Statement: President Joe Biden
Today, I am gratified to share that American Jeff Woodke was released from captivity in West Africa. Jeff was kidnapped while serving people in the Sahel as an aid worker, and I am grateful that he will soon be reunited with his wife, Els, and their family after spending more […]
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France 24: US aid worker and French journalist held hostage in Sahel region released
In tonight’s edition: An American aid worker held by Islamist extremists for more than six years and France’s last hostage, a journalist abducted almost two years ago, have both been freed. The unexpected release of Jeffery Woodke and Olivier Dubois came on Monday as the men arrived in Niger’s capital. […]
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The Washington Post: American hostage freed from captivity in Africa
Jeffery Woodke, a Christian aid worker, was abducted in Niger in 2016 | An American aid worker who was taken hostage by militants in West Africa more than six years ago has been freed, the Biden administration said Monday, but officials shared little about his years in captivity or the […]
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BBC News: Jeffery Woodke and Olivier Dubois finally freed in West Africa
A US aid worker and French journalist who had been kidnapped by militants in West Africa have been released. Jeffery Woodke and Olivier Dubois arrived at an airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Monday. Mr Woodke went missing in Niger in 2016, while Mr Dubois was held hostage in neighbouring […]
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NBC News: American aid worker held captive for more than 6 years in West Africa released, officials say
An American held hostage in West Africa for more than six years has been released, in a stunning turn of events that left the former captive “thrilled to be free,” officials and his family said Monday. Aid worker Jeff Woodke, who is from McKinleyville, California, was kidnapped on Oct. 14, […]
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AP News: Wife of US hostage in Africa reveals captors’ ransom demand
WASHINGTON (AP) — The wife of an American humanitarian worker who was kidnapped in Niger five years ago said Wednesday that her husband’s captors have made a multimillion-dollar ransom demand but U.S. government “restrictions” have hindered her ability to raise the sum. Els Woodke said she believes her husband, Jeff […]
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