Chesco College Alum Rescued in Somali Raid

Valley Fore Christian College grad on way home after daring raid

Held captive since last fall, an American woman, with ties to the Philadelphia area, and a Danish man are safely on their way home after a bold, dark-of-night rescue by U.S. Navy SEALs. The commandos slipped into a Somali encampment, shot and killed nine captors and whisked the hostages to freedom.

One official said the SEALs parachuted from U.S. Air Force aircraft before moving on foot, apparently undetected, to the outdoor encampment where they found American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, a 60-year-old Dane, who had been kidnapped in Somalia last fall. The raid happened near the town of Adado.

The two were working with the Danish Refugee Council when gunmen kidnapped them in October.

Buchanan attended a religious college Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Chester County and “fell in love with Africa” while doing student teaching in Nairobi, the head of the school said Wednesday.

"We've been praying for a miracle to take place that she'd be able to be freed," said the Rev. Don Meyer, president of Valley Forge Christian College.

Meyer says everyone at the small school is thankful their prayers have been answered with the announcement that 2006 graduate Buchanan was rescued.

“Ever since Jessica was captured, we all as a community have been praying for her safety and for her safe release,” Meyer said in a telephone interview. “The priority is just how grateful we are that she is safe.”

The family had asked people at the school to keep quiet about the case while authorities tried to negotiate Buchanan's release, Meyer said. Now, he said, the school wants to offer its “deep gratitude” to the people who worked to free her.

Buchanan was an elementary education major at VFCC, which has about 1,100 students, and had done a student teaching stint at Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi as part of her course work, Meyer said.

"She fell in love with Africa," he said. "When she came back she literally could not talk about Africa without tears in her eyes."

Her family says they are grateful to have their prayers answered and they plan to reunite with Jessica in the next day or two.

President Barack Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6.

The raid's success was welcome news for the hostages and their families, for the military and for Obama, who was delivering his State of the Union speech as the mission was wrapping up Tuesday night. He did not mention it in his address but dropped a hint upon arriving in the House chamber by telling Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, “Good job tonight.”

It was the second splashy SEAL Team 6 success in less than a year, following last May's killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

The SEALs apparently encountered some degree of resistance from the kidnappers at the encampment. One U.S. official said Wednesday that there was a firefight but the length and extent of the battle were unclear.

Pentagon spokesmen said they could not confirm a gun battle, although one defense official said it was likely that the SEALs killed the kidnappers rather than capture them because they encountered armed resistance or the threat of resistance.

“As commander in chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Wednesday.

“The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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