PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Eight of the 10 detained American missionaries were set free Wednesday, marking a milestone in a 19-day saga that captivated the American public but irked Haitian leaders who complained it became a distraction from their immense rebuilding task.
The judicial magistrate in the case kept in jail the group's leader, Idaho Internet entrepreneur Laura Silsby, and her nanny and main colleague in the Haiti venture, Charisa Coulter.
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Ms. Silsby and Ms. Coulter are being held because, unlike the others, they made a previous trip to Haiti in December during which they apparently visited a Haitian orphanage. "I want to know why she came and what she did at this orphanage," Mr. Saint-Vil said Monday.
Chiller Roy, a lawyer for Ms. Silsby, declined on Monday to comment on his client's December visit to Haiti. Ms. Silsby will remain in jail, but Mr. Saint-Vil ordered Charisa Coulter, who suffers from diabetes, to be moved to a hospital, the Associated Press reported.
Mr. Saint-Vil, the magistrate, also said he wanted to ask Ms. Silsby when she met Jorge Puello, a man who presented himself as a lawyer for the missionaries. Mr. Puello isn't a lawyer but a fugitive wanted by El Salvador on charges of child trafficking and by the U.S. on a variety of charges including immigrant smuggling.
Haiti Frees Eight American Missionaries - WSJ.com
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