Freed Haiti missionaries return to US

Eight of the 10 missionaries charged with abducting children in Haiti have been released and returned to the US.

They were taken by military jet to Miami, Florida, this morning. Two members of the team, group leader Laura Silsby and her nanny Charisa Coulter, are still in capital Port-au-Prince where they face further questioning by authorities. The freed missionaries are still obliged to return to Haiti if summoned.

The group was arrested nearly three weeks ago after being found trying to take 33 children to neighbouring Dominican Republic without exit papers.

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil decided to release the missionaries after finding that many of the parents had voluntarily handed their children to them in the belief they would have a better life.

"The parents of the kids made statements proving that they can be released," he said.

The group has always denied sinister motives, insisting they were trying to help the children in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left another 1.5 million homeless.

Most of the missionaries belong to two Baptist churches in Idaho affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.