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LONDON (AP) — A British missionary who was kidnapped in Nigeria last month has been killed, but three others have been freed, the U.K. government said Monday.
The Foreign Office said that Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan have returned to their families, but Ian Squire "was tragically killed."
The four were abducted in the Niger Delta region on Oct. 13. David Donovan, a medical doctor, and his wife Shirley worked for New Foundations, a Christian charity providing vaccinations, cataract surgery and other medical treatment to people in the Niger Delta.
Carson works at an opticians' in Leven, Scotland, and store director Adrian McCann said staff were "hugely relieved" she had been freed.
In a statement, the families of the four thanked Nigerian authorities for negotiating the release.
It was unclear when and how the three were freed or how Squire died. The Foreign Office said it could not comment during an ongoing investigation.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria. A number of high-profile abductions have been carried out by militants in the Niger Delta region and by the Islamist group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria.
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