Prayers are actually going up around the globe for American missionary pilot Kevin Rideout after he was reportedly kidnapped from his home within the highly secure Château 1 neighborhood of Niamey, the capital of Niger in West Africa.
Rideout, a 48-year-old married father, works with Serving In Mission, also referred to as SIM. A report from Radio France Internationale on Wednesday stated that Rideout was reportedly kidnapped by three men near the grand Bravia Hotel, in the town center, just a couple of hundred meters from the presidential palace.
U.S. State Department officials in Niamey confirmed on Wednesday that they were working to secure Rideout’s release.
“It is a top priority for the Trump Administration to take care of the protection of each American, and we’re seeing efforts from across the U.S. government to support the recovery and protected return of this U.S. citizen,” a spokesperson told CBS News.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey also issued a security alert on Wednesday, warning Americans that they face a “heightened risk of kidnapping” throughout the country, which has been in political turmoil since a coup d’etat on July 26, 2023.
“American residents remain at a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including within the capital city. Due to heightened concern concerning the threat of kidnapping, the Embassy has modified its security posture to require armored vehicles for all travel of Embassy personnel and members of the family, restricted movements of Embassy personnel and members of the family, and instituted a compulsory curfew and routine accountability,” the safety alert warns. “All restaurants and open-air markets are off-limits to U.S. Embassy personnel and members of the family.”
SIM officials couldn’t immediately comment on the kidnapping when contacted by The Christian Post on Friday. Both Rideout and his brother Ian have worked as pilots for the organization headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, in line with a 2014 report from The Wellesley Townsman.
“The brothers fly mission personnel and equipment and supplies inside Niger and across west Africa, helping to facilitate the work of diverse organizations in certainly one of the world’s least developed countries,” that report from 2014 said.
“Their work involves supporting drilling wells to offer clean water; aiding refugees from war-torn countries; reforestation and land reclamation projects; hospitals; aiding flood victims; teaching literacy; enabling widows to begin micro enterprises or caring for orphans, all bringing hope to people across the region.”
Reacting to the news of Rideout’s kidnapping on Thursday, Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, urged his 11 million followers to wish for his protected return.
“A missionary pilot with the Christian organization SIM International (Serving in Mission) has been abducted within the West African nation of Niger. It is being reported that he was taken north to areas controlled by an offshoot of ISIS,” wrote Graham on Facebook. “The State Department said it’s a top priority of the Trump Administration to take care of the protection of each American, and so they are supporting his recovery and protected return. Would you pray for his protection and that he will likely be released unharmed and in a position to come home?”
Gomer Williams, who described himself as Rideout’s friend, also called for prayers.
“When it hits home, it hits slightly in another way. Kevin Rideout, the missionary that was kidnapped in Niger this week, is a friend of mine,” wrote Williams on Facebook.
“Please keep him and his family in your prayers. This is a difficult time for him as he’s being held hostage in conditions most Americans cannot understand. Pray for Kevin to be comforted by God, given hope, and assurance. Pray for strength and pray for opportunities to share along with his captors the Gospel,” he urged.
“We have seen a couple of of the lads whose lives were condemned by evil and hatred disguised as religion come to know and accept Jesus as their Savior. Kevin’s fight immediately is against the evil forces of darkness that indwell men deceived by false religion,” he added. “Pray for his safety, strength, health, and for mental, physical, and Spiritual comfort as he walks through the valley of the shadow of death! Greater is the God in Kevin than the evil on the earth!”
U.S. Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., also urged prayer for Rideout.
“Pray that he’s rescued. Pray for his family’s strength. Pray that peace is with him on this unimaginable situation,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “Pray for U.S. authorities and embassy officials working to bring him home.”
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