---
title: "Hawks step in after kidnappers of American missionary in Gqeberha demand ransom"
description: "The kidnappers of American missionary Josh Sullivan, who was abducted on Thursday, have demanded a ransom, prompting the Hawks’ intervention."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "ABDUCTED PASTOR"
author: "Ethan van Diemen"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ethan-van-diemen/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-13-kidnapped-american-missionary-hawks-step-in-after-ransom-demand/"
published: "2025-04-13T18:14:35"
updated: "2025-04-13T18:14:39"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 496
---

# Hawks step in after kidnappers of American missionary in Gqeberha demand ransom

> The kidnappers of American missionary Josh Sullivan, who was abducted on Thursday, have demanded a ransom, prompting the Hawks’ intervention.

By Ethan van Diemen · Published 13 April 2025, 20:14 SAST · Updated 13 April 2025, 20:14 SAST

## Key points
- The kidnappers of American missionary Josh Sullivan, who was abducted on Thursday, have demanded a ransom, prompting the Hawks’ intervention.
- The Hawks have taken over the investigation into the kidnapping of American missionary Josh Sullivan, who was abducted during a church sermon in Motherwell.
- Suspects demanded a ransom, prompting a multidisciplinary task team to pursue all leads for Sullivan's recovery and the arrest of the kidnappers.
- The incident highlights a troubling trend, with 593 kidnappings reported in the Eastern Cape between April and December 2024, raising concerns over safety for US citizens.
- The US embassy is monitoring the situation, emphasizing the safety of American citizens abroad as a top priority.

## Content

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) have taken over the investigation into the kidnapping of an American missionary Josh Sullivanafter his alleged kidnappers demanded a ransom.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, confirmed to Daily Maverick on Sunday morning that “a ransom was demanded by the suspects.”

A multidisciplinary task team consisting of various specialised police units had been “activated” and the joint team was “currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators”.

Daily Maverick previously reported that Sullivan was [kidnapped at gunpoint by four armed men during his sermon](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-11-american-missionary-kidnapped-at-gunpoint-during-church-sermon-amid-rising-crime-in-gqeberha/?dm_source=top_reads_block&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=top_reads&dm_content=maverick_news) at a church in Motherwell, Gqeberha, on Thursday night, 10 April 2025.

Captain Andre Beetge of the South African Police Service (SAPS) previously said that at about 7pm on Thursday, SAPS Motherwell was alerted to an incident at a church on Mambalaza Street, NU10, Motherwell.

“It is alleged that while a sermon was being conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church. They robbed people of two cellphones and then took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and fled the scene in the vehicle of the pastor. The silver Toyota Fortuner was recovered a short while later in Motherwell.”

**Read more:**[American missionary kidnapped at gunpoint during church sermon amid rising crime in Gqeberha](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-11-american-missionary-kidnapped-at-gunpoint-during-church-sermon-amid-rising-crime-in-gqeberha/?dm_source=top_reads_block&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=top_reads&dm_content=maverick_news)

The kidnapping and robbery is the latest incident involving US missionaries in Gqeberha. On 23 March, Eastern Cape transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha sought to reassure residents in a statement on Nelson Mandela Bay crime, which noted previous “robberies of church members in New Brighton, and the US missionaries in NU12, Motherwell”.

Nqatha said at the time that an additional 150 Public Order Police members, 15 detectives and crime intelligence officers had also arrived in the metro to augment their crime-fighting efforts.

Spokespersons for the MEC were unable to provide any information about the outcome of these efforts.

![Kyran-JoshSullivan](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/iGD1re3Iw5mTJCQknvypbpK8u_s=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pic-1.jpg)

*Josh Sullivan, a missionary from Maryville, Tennessee, was kidnapped at gunpoint during a church service in Gqeberha. He is pictured with his wife, Meagan. (Photo: Facebook)*

Between April and December 2024, a total of 593 kidnapping cases were reported in the Eastern Cape, according to the police’s quarterly crime statistics for the 2024/25 financial year (quarters one to three), which cover 1 April to 31 December 2024.

Asked how many arrests had been made for kidnapping in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in 2025, Mhlakuvana said they didn’t have an exact number but that “a huge number of suspects have been arrested by the Hawks in Gqeberha. In addition, most of those perpetrators are still behind bars.”

In response to questions from Daily Maverick, a US embassy official said “the US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad. We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of a US citizen in South Africa. We have nothing further to share at this time.” **DM**