A United Methodist pastor and his wife and daughter were freed unharmed early on Oct. 28 after being kidnapped at gunpoint by tribesmen in Yemen.

The Rev. Don and Gladys Colburn of Portland, Ore., were in the Middle Eastern country visiting their daughter, Marta, who teaches at the American Institute for Yemeni Studies in San'a, the capital city.

Rev. Colburn, a member of the United Methodist Oregon-Idaho Annual (regional) Conference, retired in 1994. Mrs. Colburn works as a librarian for the Oregon Peace Institute at Portland State University. She served as media librarian for 11 years with the conference until her retirement in 1989.

The Rev. Steven Sprecher, a district superintendent for the Oregon-Idaho Conference, said the couple had traveled to Yemen on Oct. 9 for a visit of three to six weeks. The three family members were kidnapped Oct. 26 as they returned from a trip to the south of Yemen.

According to the Associated Press, the Colburns were freed after Yemeni authorities conducted intense negotiations with the kidnappers, part of the Bani Jabr tribe of the Habib Valley in Marib, east of San'a. The kidnappers had demanded the release of 25 fellow tribesmen detained in connection with an explosion at an oil pipeline on Oct. 21. The three were found in good health and were reported to be on their way back to the capital.

Kidnapping tourists or foreign workers as a way of pressuring the government for better services or money in this impoverished country is a frequent tactic of Yemeni tribesmen. Most are released unharmed, although four tourists held by an Islamic group were killed in a botched rescue attempt last December.

October 28, 1999

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.