75-year-old Georgia missionary escapes Haiti by boat as gang crisis rises

ATLANTA — As the crisis in Haiti grows, more people around the U.S. and Georgia are working to help their loved ones leave the country.

“Everything just kind of escalated,” Kim Patterson told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington.

Patterson said her concern has been growing with each passing day as her 75-year-old father, Boyce Young, sat stranded in Haiti for days.

“It was still unnerving,” Patterson explained.

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She said her father arrived in the country in February to do missionary work.

But when political instability and gang violence started to rise, Patterson knew it was time for her father to get out of Haiti and back to Georgia.

“If people can’t get food, clean water and just the basic necessities, then desperation sets in,” Patterson added.

The crisis in Haiti grew to dire levels in early March when coalitions and rival gangs took control over certain areas.

According to the United Nations, about 80% of Port-Au-Prince is now controlled by gangs.

Fuel, food, and water remain scarce.

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Late Monday, Patterson received the news she’d been hoping for: her father and his friend escaped Haiti safely.

“They were able to find a Haitian that took them by boat to the Haitian border. My dad said it was a four and half hour boat ride in six-to-eight-foot waves,” Patterson told Washington.

Patterson’s father and his friend eventually made it to the Dominican Republic and then to Santo Domingo.

Patterson said her thoughts are now with the people of Haiti.

“That’s what I keep thinking about are the people that are in that nation. I hope we as a country and other countries can come together and help them find a solution,” Patterson said.

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Boyce Young is expected to land in Georgia on Wednesday.

The State Department continues to help U.S. citizens trying to leave Haiti.

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