President Trump announced that American missionary Kevin Rideout is preparing to fly home after armed kidnappers held him in Niger for more than nine months, marking the 110th captive American freed since Trump's second term began.
Rideout, a Christian missionary pilot who spent 19 years serving in the West African nation, was seized on October 21, 2025, by three armed individuals just 150 feet from Niger's presidential palace in the capital city of Niamey. His missionary organization, SIM International, confirmed Friday that he had been released and was in good health in U.S. custody. Two days later, Trump posted on Truth Social that Rideout had been reunited with his wife, Krista, and was preparing to return to the United States.
The abduction drew immediate concern from the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, which issued a security alert the day after Rideout was taken, warning Americans of a "heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including in the capital city." Rideout was believed to have been moved out of Niamey after the kidnapping, taken to the militant-heavy Tillabéri region in western Niger, the Washington Examiner reported.
Trump's announcement framed the release as part of a broader pattern of bringing Americans home. In his Truth Social post, the president wrote:
"I am happy to reveal that former hostage Kevin Rideout is getting ready to fly home to the United States after having been reunited with his beautiful wife, Krista."
He added: "I look forward to seeing Kevin and Krista at the White House soon!"
In a separate post cited by Fox News, Trump described the region where Rideout was held as "the epicenter of Islamist terrorism, where there have been more deadly attacks in the past year than anywhere else on Earth." He called Rideout "a wonderful Christian Missionary" and said the United States looked forward to welcoming him home.
SIM International, the North Carolina-based organization Rideout served as a pilot, released its own statement Friday.
"We are grateful to confirm that our good friend and brother in Christ, Kevin Rideout, has been released after over nine months in captivity."
The organization said Rideout would soon be reunited with Krista, his children, and his extended family, and noted that the family was "profoundly grateful for the prayers offered on their behalf by people around the world throughout his captivity." Rideout is now in FBI custody, according to the Washington Examiner.
No armed group publicly claimed responsibility for Rideout's kidnapping. But the circumstances pointed toward jihadist networks that have expanded across Niger and the broader Sahel region of Africa. Groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State have carried out escalating attacks in the area for years.
A U.S. official told the Washington Examiner that Rideout's release was not the result of a military rescue operation but came "by other means." That official linked it to sustained military pressure on Islamic State forces in the region, including a raid that killed a high-ranking Islamic State leader, Abu Bilal al-Minuki, in May. The case had been a major priority for both the White House and U.S. Africa Command.
Niger's security situation has deteriorated sharply since a military junta seized power in a 2023 coup. The new regime expelled Western partners, including the United States, and formed a new alliance with Russia. That pivot left a vacuum that jihadist groups have exploited, turning the region into one of the most dangerous corridors on the continent. AP News reported that the country's shift away from Western security cooperation has compounded the threat to civilians and foreign nationals alike.
Rideout had spent nearly two decades as a missionary and pilot in Niger with SIM International, an organization that operates in more than 70 countries. He was grabbed by three armed individuals outside his home in Niamey, a brazen abduction that took place just 150 feet from the presidential palace, the New York Post reported.
That proximity underscored how far security in Niger's own capital had eroded. The U.S. Embassy's alert, issued the very next day, did not hold back about the danger Americans faced in the country. And for more than nine months, Rideout's family waited, sustained, his organization said, by prayer and the knowledge that the U.S. government was working the case.
Trump described Rideout's release as the 110th captive American freed since his second inauguration. The administration has not published a detailed accounting of how that figure is calculated, and the methodology remains an open question. But the number itself reflects a consistent White House emphasis on bringing detained and kidnapped Americans home, a priority Trump has made central to his foreign policy messaging.
How Rideout was ultimately freed, whether through direct negotiation, intermediaries, or the cumulative weight of military operations against Islamic State networks, remains unclear. No ransom has been publicly disclosed. The three armed individuals who carried out the kidnapping have not been publicly identified or reported as apprehended.
A man spent 19 years serving others in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, and when the worst happened, his government brought him home. That is what American power is supposed to do.
