3 years after LaPorte man kidnapped in Iraq, residents keep hope

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LaPorte businessman Jeffrey Ake kidnapped in Iraq

LaPorte businessman Jeffrey Ake has been missing since April 11, 2005 when he was kidnapped in Baghdad. He was last seen two days later when Al-Jazeera broadcast a video that showed Ake being held at gunpoint.

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 11, 2008 at 1:56 PM EST

Story Updated: Apr 11, 2008 at 1:58 PM EST

LAPORTE (AP) — Three years after an Indiana businessman was kidnapped in Iraq and paraded before a camera by gun-toting men, his hometown is still hoping for his safe return.

Jeffrey Ake was abducted April 11, 2005, from a water treatment plant near Baghdad.

Days later, he was seen in a video that aired on an Al-Jazeera television station in which masked soldiers holding guns stood by as he pleaded for his life.

In the weeks after Ake's abduction, the kidnappers called his wife, Liliana Ake, demanding money for his return. But since then there has been no word on his fate.

Liliana Ake issued a statement this week through Friends of Jeff, a group from his hometown that has been looking after the financial stability of Ake's family.

"We continue to pray for Jeff's safe return, as well as the safe return of all other hostages," she said.

Ake, who was 47 when he was abducted, was the president of Equipment Express in LaPorte, a maker of water bottling systems. He was in Baghdad to sell the systems as a part of the rebuilding effort and was in his second trip to Iraq in two years when he vanished.

David Dlesk, a member of Friends of Jeff, said the group's Web site — http://www.jeffake.com — was set up to give updated information and a place where people can donate to a trust fund benefiting the Ake family.

Residents of LaPorte, meanwhile, are holding onto hope that Ake will return home.

"You just keep hoping he shows up, really," said Julie Hilbish, owner of Hilbish Pharmacy. "It's a complete hardship on that family not knowing what's going on."

Tom Milo, owner of Suds on State, a laundry service, said he can't imagine what Ake's family must be going through year after year.

"I certainly hope that for the family's sake that they bring him home alive and well," Milo said. "That's all you can hope for. ... I hope it's resolved in a good way."

LaPorte Mayor Kathy Chroback has continued the tradition set by her predecessor of offering a prayer at the beginning of each City Council meeting on behalf of Ake.

Liliana Ake said the family is thankful for the kind words.

"We appreciate all the loving support we have received during the past three years from many family and friends and many people we have never met," she said.

—_—

Information from: The News-Dispatch, http://www.michigancityin.com

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