President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Kevin Rideout, an American missionary pilot previously held hostage in Niger, has been released and reunited with his family. Rideout, 50, was released after approximately nine months in captivity in West Africa. The president stated that Rideout is preparing to return to the United States and invited him and his wife, Krista, to visit the White House.
Rideout was kidnapped from outside his home in Niamey, Niger, on October 21, 2025. He had lived in the country for 19 years while serving as a pilot for Serving in Mission (SIM), a Christian missionary organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to four sources cited by Reuters, Rideout's release was facilitated with the assistance of Khalifa Haftar, a military commander in eastern Libya.
The release occurred nearly three months after U.S. forces killed Abu Bilal al-Minuki, who served as the second-in-command for ISIS globally. SIM confirmed Rideout’s release in a statement, noting he is currently in good health and under the care of U.S. officials. According to the president’s post on Truth Social, Rideout is the 110th American in captivity to be released during the current administration's second term.
For the Rideout family, the change is immediate and personal as they reconnect after nine months of separation. On a broader scale, the event highlights the involvement of regional military figures like Libya’s Khalifa Haftar in international hostage negotiations and the continued activity of groups like ISIS in Niger. Religious workers and their sponsoring organizations, such as the North Carolina-based SIM, may see this as a precedent for how the U.S. government and regional partners coordinate the recovery of personnel taken from residential areas in foreign capitals.
What happens next involves Rideout’s physical transit back to the U.S. and a scheduled visit to the White House. U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) stated he is working on legislative efforts to hold religious persecutors accountable following the incident. Specific details regarding the conditions of the release or any potential concessions were not immediately available, as the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the specifics of the negotiation.