Missouri State Representative Ben Baker said his daughter Natalie Lloyd and son-in-law Davy Lloyd were killed while working as full-time missionaries in Haiti. Mission director Jude Montis, 45, was also killed. Davy Lloyd was the son of the organization’s founders, David and Alicia Lloyd, who started it in 2000.
All three worked for Missions in Haiti, Inc., which has been operated by Lloyd’s parents for more than two decades, according to the group’s website.
The missionaries were taking shelter in a house when gang members began shooting at the residence at about 9 p.m. CDT (0200 GMT) Thursday, the group said in two Facebook posts. Months of gang violence in Haiti have forced the government into retreat, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned the country is close to becoming a failed state.
Natalie Lloyd’s father told CNN the couple didn’t leave even when they had the opportunity to do so because of the children they were taking care of.
“They made the decision to remain even when it got worse because they felt like if they left, then those kids would have no where to go,” Baker said on “The Source.”
“Currently, we are working to retrieve the bodies of Natalie and Davy,” Baker said on social media Friday night, adding that the effort will involve obtaining a waiver. “After that, we have to find an airline that will be willing to do the transport. Prayers that this will all go smoothly.”