Family and friends of a Vancouver-area couple are concerned after hearing reports that the elderly man and woman witnessed an armed kidnapping while on a trip to Uganda.
Several people who know Martin and Barbel Jurrius have told CTV News Vancouver the couple was on a safari trip in the African nation.
Reports suggest the pair, who live in a retirement home in North Vancouver, was part of a group that was ambushed by four gunmen while at a wildlife park.
Religious leaders from the churches the couple has attended and an employee at their home told CTV Friday that they were in Uganda.
Family members also confirmed they were in Africa, but said they hadn't heard from Martin or Barbel since they'd escaped. However, they said that wasn't unsual as neither carries a cellphone even when at home, and they're both independent, intrepid travellers.
The family said they wouldn't be surprised if the couple continues with the trip, and described the pair as so dedicated to travelling the world that they'd likely only stop when one "comes home in a box."
A friend who's known the couple for 20 years said this was at least their third trip to Africa.
"They're also very strong people, and I would say they're brave," Jean Lawrence said.
"I think they probably thought God was watching out for them."
Reports suggest that it is the same couple, but police named two people of the same first name but a slightly different last name (Julius), so it has not been confirmed that the B.C. couple was there.
Earlier on Friday, Global Affairs confirmed two Canadians were present during the kidnapping Tuesday. A spokesperson said the couple is safe and that consular services have been provided, but did not give further details.
Two people were taken into the bush and the other four were "left abandoned and unharmed," the Uganda Media Centre said in a brief statement posted online.
Police said the vehicle was left behind, but the kidnappers took the key.
Authorities in Uganda are still searching for the U.S. tourist and for a local driver who were both abducted from Queen Elizabeth National Park, a popular spot for safaris located in the southwest portion of the African nation.
Kidnappers reportedly used one of the victims' phones to demand a $500,000 ransom for the 35-year-old American woman and the driver, authorities said.
The woman has been identified as Kimberly Endicott, a single mother from California, while the driver was ID'd as Jean-Paul Miregene Remezo.
A rescue party is searching for signs of the kidnapping victims.
"The priority at this point is to locate, rescue and bring them back to safety," the Uganda Media Centre statement said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's David Molko and Carly Yoshida-Butryn, and The Canadian Press
