DoubleTake: The kidnapping of Kayla Mueller, Part II

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Additional support comes from The Voice of the Martyrs, serving persecuted Christians for almost 60 years.
VOM founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand's story of persecution and torture by communist jailers shocked the Western world. Free copies of his book, Tortured for Christ, now available at vom.org/saturdayspecial.

**Les Sillers** (0:25)
From World Radio, this is Double Take. I'm Les Sillers.
This is episode two in a three-part series, The Kidnapping of Kayla Mueller. She was a young American woman kidnapped by ISIS in 2013 At the end of the first episode, Kayla's parents, Marsha and Carl Mueller, had received an email from the ISIS Beatles.

**Marsha Mueller** (0:46)
Well, it just said, we have your daughter.

**Les Sillers** (0:50)
The ISIS Beatles were a group of British citizens who became terrorists in Syria under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Their email to the Mueller's arrived about 10 months after ISIS kidnapped their daughter, Kayla, a humanitarian worker. From an early age, Kayla seemed to know her mission and purpose, to go into the world and serve others, a dream Marsha supported.

**Marsha Mueller** (1:10)
You know, I encouraged Kayla to go into the world when we were…

**Les Sillers** (1:13)
Discouraging her seemed futile. But after August 4th, 2013, Kayla was no longer going out into the world. She had become a hostage. With the help of another hostage, Kayla managed to slip out a letter to her parents. She signed the letter, All My Everything. The Mueller's interpreted that to mean Kayla was enduring all she could so she could come home.
Likewise, the Mueller's were doing all they could to secure her release.
World correspondent Jenny Ruff met Marsha and Carl at their home in Prescott, Arizona. In Kayla's bedroom at the back of their home, Carl and Marsha pulled out a manila envelope.

**Marsha Mueller** (1:52)
Oh, the ISIS emails, where are they?

**Les Sillers** (1:55)
Marsha flipped through a stack of printed emails she and Carl exchanged with the ISIS Beatles. It's a record of a negotiation for the life of their daughter.
The first one, dated mid-May of 2014, invited Carl and Marsha to ask three questions to confirm Kayla's identity and prove that she was still alive. The Mueller's sent the questions and waited for a reply.

**Kayla Mueller** (2:24)
Mom and Dad, I am still remaining healthy. You should have already received the three answers to the proof of life questions you provided.

**Jenny Ruff** (2:33)
It's 2.42 Mountain Standard Time in Prescott, Arizona, a Thursday afternoon at the end of May 2014
Marsha and Carl Mueller fell silent as they listened to their daughter's voice. The ISIS Beatles, terrorists who had captured Kayla in Syria, had attached the recording to an e-mail. The e-mail also included the written answers to three proof of life questions.
Marsha and Carl were certain it was Kayla on the recording. It was good to hear her voice after so long. The written answers to the proof of life questions were correct. The stitches on Kayla's eyebrow came from her childhood when she was playing with her brother and fell out of a wagon. She liked to say, music is everywhere. And her friend Moe's real name, Monica. The attached recording was bare bones, but important. It laid out the ransom demands.

**Kayla Mueller** (3:23)
Those detaining me are demanding an exchange of Dr. Afia Siddiqui's release for my release.

**Jenny Ruff** (3:29)
Here's Kayla's dad, Carl.

**Carl Mueller** (3:31)
They wanted to free Afia Siddiqui. I don't know if you know that story or not, but she was-

**Jenny Ruff** (3:37)
Afia Siddiqui, a Muslim from Pakistan, came to the United States in 1990 when she was 18
She earned a bachelor's degree, then a PhD. Marsha.

**Marsha Mueller** (3:47)
She was actually a neuroscientist.

**Jenny Ruff** (3:50)
In 2002, shortly after 9-11, Siddiqui returned to Pakistan and disappeared for five years. The FBI had issued an alert for her, believing she was linked to a global terrorist network. In the summer of 2008, Siddiqui turned up outside a compound in Ghazni and was arrested for suspicious behavior.

**Marsha Mueller** (4:09)
And our government picked her up in Afghanistan or...

**Jenny Ruff** (4:13)
During FBI questioning, according to the US government, Siddiqui seized an army officer's M4 rifle, shouted, death to all Americans in Arabic, and fired at US officials. She was brought to the United States, tried for attempted murder, and sentenced to 86 years in prison.
So, ISIS's first demand to the Mueller's? A prisoner exchange. Kayla for Siddiqui. But Kayla's recording set out a second option.

**Kayla Mueller** (4:39)
If this is not achievable, they are demanding 5 million euros to ensure my release. Goodbye.

**Jenny Ruff** (4:46)
5 million euros was about the equivalent of 6.2 million US dollars. The Mueller's were hardworking and frugal. They'd always saved up for a rainy day. But that amount was simply too much.