The American woman kidnapped from a national park in southwest Uganda, by four gunmen now demanding a ransom of $500,000 for their release, has been pictured.
Grandmother Kimberly Sue Endicott, who turns 57 on April 15, was on a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park when her vehicle was ambushed on Tuesday evening, according to police.
A friend said Thursday that Endicott had shared an image on Instagram of four gunmen guarding her before she suddenly stopped posted two days ago.
Ugandan soldiers on Thursday expanded their hunt for the gunmen, who abducted the California woman and Wild Frontiers Safari driver Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, 38, around dusk on Tuesday.
State-run Uganda Wildlife Authority said the Congolese father-of-two was driving without an armed guard despite advice tot eh entire country.
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Kimberly Sue Endicott was kidnapped with Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, 38, in Uganda Tuesday
The group was driving through Queen Elizabeth National Park without an armed guard, according to Uganda Wildlife Authority but a friend of Endicott's said she posted a picture of four armed guards
'I know she was planning this trip for a while, because it’s something that she’s always wanted to do,' Pam Lopez told KTLA in a phone interview. 'This was always a big trip she wanted to take.'
Lopez told the station that Endicott - who has a daughter and a granddaughter - has been sharing images on social media from her travels.
'She had been posting pictures of her trip up until – it looks like two days ago, which brings it to Tuesday, which I believe is the day she got kidnapped.'
But Lopez admitted she wasn't sure if Endicott's loved ones even knew she had been kidnapped.
She added about the Costa Mesa woman who she knew through her work as an aesthetician: 'Honestly, I don’t know what to think. I’m still trying to process it.'
'Four armed men, not yet identified, between 5pm and 7pm (1400-1600GMT), staged an ambush and kidnapped an American tourist with his Ugandan driver near Katoke Gate in the Queen Elizabeth National Park,' government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said Wednesday in a statement.
Martin Julius and his wife Barbel were said to be on a Wild Frontiers Safari tour and alerted a manager when they were abandoned in the ambush
'A joint operation by the Uganda police, Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and Uganda Wildlife Authority Game Wardens is underway to locate and rescue them.'
Other tourists, who were present when the gunmen attacked but were not abducted or physically harmed, managed to raise the alarm from the lodge where they were staying.
A Canadian elderly couple left behind on the Edward Track between Katoke Gate the wilderness camp, reported to the camp manager who came to rescue them after the incident that occurred between 6pm and 7pm.
Opondo said those 'who were left abandoned and unharmed, later contacted the base (lodge) and were quickly got safely out of any danger.'
Deputy Police spokesperson ACP Polly Namaye, said the captors took the keys the van the others were left in.
Their names were reported as Martin Julius and his wife Barbel.
California-based Endecott and the couple entered Uganda on March 29 and flew the next day to the park in the country's southwest, a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) spokesman said.
The safari company's website names married father-of-two Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, 38, as one of their drivers and says he was born in Congo and grew up in the area near Goma.
He moved to Uganda in 1992 and joined the company with in 2007 with five years of experience in the tourism industry. He speaks English, Swahili and French.
Police said the initial indications lead them to believe that the kidnapping was financially motivated.
The group quickly made their demand for Shs1.8billion using Endecott’s cellphone.
'We strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind this kidnap,' the police stated. 'The Joint Security teams have cut off all exit areas on the border between Uganda and the DRC in search of the victims.'
On Thursday police said the captors were still use devices from the kidnapped people to ask for ransom money.
