Thread: MSU students kidnapped in Guatemala

MSU Students Kidnapped On Spring Break
Group In Guatemala On Help Mission

POSTED: Friday, March 20, 2009
UPDATED: 1:21 pm EDT March 20, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Eleven Michigan State University students were kidnapped and held at gunpoint during their spring break in Guatemala.

The students, a tour guide and two bus company employees were on their three-hour tour when several armed men approached their tour bus with guns.

Four of the students, Alex Cummings, Mikaelyn Law, Zahkia Smith, and Jennifer Tzeng, were part of a spring break trip organized by Encountour, a New York-based travel group that arranges trips for college students to Latin America.

The students said the bus driver was told to drive for several miles into a rural field, where the group was forced off the bus and tied up.

The gunmen took their money, electronics and other valuables, before leaving, said several of the students.

Several of the women said they were molested after being patted down for their belongings.

"It was traumatic experience. These are underdeveloped countries and obviously it's a risk to travel there," said Smith's father.

Smith said after the incident happened his daughter called home every 12 hours to let him know she was OK.

He said he didn't feel comfortable about the trip to Guatemala but didn't want to stand in her way.

The students were in the country to develop the area's tourism industry through manual labor.

The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and the Guatemalan National Police have been notified of the robbery.

An investigation is under way.

University spokesman Terry Denbow said the university is offering counseling to the MSU students.

The trip was not in affiliation with the University, Denbow said.

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The students were in the country to develop the area's tourism industry through manual labor.

So much for good deeds.

I think a travel warning needs to be issued for all of Latin America in general. It is just too dangerous for Americans right now.