St. Thomas graduate and nurse Alix Dorsainvil and daughter freed after kidnapping in Haiti

DOVER — St. Thomas Aquinas High School graduate Alix Dorsainvil, the New Hampshire nurse kidnapped along with her daughter by armed men in Haiti last month, have been safely released from captivity in Port-au-Prince.

El Roi Haiti, the Christian ministry where Dorsainvil has worked for three years, announced their safe release in a statement on Wednesday.

“It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port au Prince, Haiti,” El Roi Haiti said. “Today we are praising God for answered prayer! We are so thankful for everyone who joined us in prayer and supported us during this crisis.”

The New Hampshire resident and her daughter were seized on July 27, according to El Roi Haiti.

More: NH nurse kidnapped in Haiti, a St. Thomas graduate, in prayers of Dover school community

Dorsainvil, a 2010 graduate of the Dover Point Road Catholic school, began working as a nurse with El Roi Haiti in 2020. The next year, she married the organization’s founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.

While studying at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, Dorsainvil first visited the country following the devastating 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti, killing thousands upon thousands of citizens. The aspiring nurse later returned to Haiti on self-funded trips during breaks and summers.

The U.S. Department of State responded to news of Dorsainvil’s release in a statement shared Wednesday with Seacoast Media Group.

"We welcome reports of the release of two U.S. citizens from captivity in Haiti. We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” a department spokesperson said. “Out of respect for their privacy, we will allow individuals to speak for themselves if and when they feel ready. As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally.  We express our deepest appreciation to our Haitian, and U.S. interagency partners for their assistance in facilitating their safe release."

Neither the U.S. Department of State nor El Roi Haiti noted whether any ransom was paid to ensure the two would be released. The U.S. Department of State did not directly respond to questions regarding whether any conditions were met in order for Dorsainvil and her daughter to be released and did not disclose the specific efforts undertaken to ensure their freedom.

El Roi Haiti is asking that no one attempt to contact Dorsainvil at this time, nor her family, as they process the events of the last two weeks. The organization vowed to continue sharing updates on the situation through its online platform.

“We praise God that He has proven Himself faithful as He restores, supports, and strengthens Alix and her family, the ministry of El Roi Haiti, and the community that Alix has impacted - and continues to impact - with her ministry in Haiti,” El Roi Haiti added.

St. Thomas Aquinas invited members of the Class of 2010, in addition to other students, faculty, alumni and other community members, to pray for Dorsainvil and her daughter in a private mass held in Somersworth last weekend.

The kidnapping set off protests amid a worsening crisis in Haiti pertaining to gang-related violence. By mid-March, according to statistics from the United Nations, 531 people in Haiti had been killed, with another 300 people injured and 277 others kidnapped, all of it mainly occurring in Port-au-Prince.

The U.S. Department of State issued a travel advisory the day of Dorsainvil and her daughter’s kidnapping, citing civil unrest, frequent kidnapping of U.S. citizens and other crimes taking place in the country.

The level four “do not travel” advisory states the department ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees from Haiti.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: St. Thomas graduate and nurse Alix Dorsainvil, daughter freed in Haiti