U.S. Aid Worker Cyd Mizell kidnapped & Missing in Southern Afghanistan Feared Dead
Cyd Mizell, a US aid worker from Eureka, California and her Afghan driver were kidnapped in southern Afghanistan in January 2008. According to the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, both 50 year old Cyd Mizell and her driver are feared dead.
Cyd Mizell & driver Abdul Hadi
Mizell worked on aid projects for the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, or ARLDF.
A statement posted on the group’s Web site says, although there’s no confirmation, information has been received indicating the two aid workers have been killed.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions.
The kidnappings happened in an area known for insurgent activity. (KCBS)
Fate of US aid worker a mystery two months on, say officials
ARDLF said in a statement a month later that it had received “information over the past few days indicating that our two aid workers have been killed.”
This was, however, never confirmed and an ARDLF employee in southern Kandahar city, where they were taken, said Tuesday that they were just “rumours”.
“The case is still open,” a US official said Tuesday.
The kidnappers never contacted authorities, said Assadullah Khalid, the governor of the volatile southern province of Kandahar, the heartland of the Taliban movement waging a deadly insurgency that has included kidnappings.
“No conditions were set,” he told AFP.
The Taliban have repeatedly denied involvement, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed saying again Tuesday: “Our military friends have not abducted the American woman.”
Parents respond to word that kidnapped US aid worker feared dead
Statement from the parents of missing Cyd Mizell
We are all heartbroken to receive credible reports of the deaths of our daughter, Cyd, and Muhammad Hadi, her driver, in Afghanistan. While these reports remain unconfirmed, we are beginning to accept that the hoped-for outcome may no longer be possible.
Cyd knew before she went to Afghanistan that it could be a dangerous place, but she went because she loved the Afghan people and dedicated her life to serving them. We are trying to understand why someone would kill a gentle, caring person who came to their country to help the poor. Many of the people of Kandahar came to love her almost as much as we loved her, and all of us share her loss.
We thank everyone who has worked so hard to secure her release and who now seek to confirm what we’ve heard. We thank everyone around the world who’s been praying for Cyd, and for us.
Please continue to keep our family and Mr. Hadi’s family in your prayers.
We ask now that you please respect our privacy as we wait for confirmation and grieve for our Cydney.
Thank you.