Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) shared a letter written to President Joe Biden on Sunday in which he called for protection to be given to the remains of Davy and Natalie Lloyd as they are transported back to the United States from Haiti.
“Natalie and Davy devoted their lives to spreading the Gospel and serving others,” Hawley wrote in his letter shared on X. “As Missouri mourns their loss, I ask you to mobilize all resources at your disposal to protect the transport of the Lloyds’ remains back to Missouri. This is the least your government owes our citizens.”
Hawley’s letter to Biden comes after Missouri State Rep. Ben Baker (R) revealed in a Facebook post that his daughter, Natalie, and son-in-law, Davy, who had been serving as missionaries in Haiti, had been killed by gangs in the country.
The couple had been serving in Port-au-Prince for Missions in Haiti, which was founded in 2000 by David and Alicia Lloyd, Davy’s parents.
Now Haitian gangs are threatening to stop the transport of Davy and Natalie Lloyd’s bodies home to Missouri. President Biden should guarantee their safe transfer home. The government failed the Lloyds two days ago. The least it can do now is bring home their remains pic.twitter.com/cGPFM7pUv4
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 26, 2024
“Days ago, two Missouri missionaries, Natalie and Davy Lloyd, were brutally murdered by Haitian gangs as they were working to minister to the Haitian people,” Hawley wrote. “On the night they were besieged by gangs, my office urgently requested help from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.”
Hawley added that the U.S. Embassy informed his office that it was “too dangerous” for them to “send police to aid the Lloyds.”
Natalie and Davy were “ambushed by a gang of 3 trucks” as they were coming out of the church, Missions in Haiti wrote in a Facebook post.
After being ambushed, Davy was taken to a house and “tied up” and beaten while gang members began stealing items.
“They tied up my son and beat him,” Davy’s father told the Wall Street Journal. “They got three vehicles. They got a bunch of equipment, money, I had my payroll in there for the week.”
Davy was reportedly able to untie himself, his father told the outlet. After being untied, Davy and Natalie, along with Jude Montis, the Haitian director of the organization found shelter in a house used by Davy’s parents.
It hurts my heart so bad to even say this but we have confirmation from the Embassy that Davy and Natalie’s bodies have…
Posted by Ben Baker on Friday, May 24, 2024
While on the phone with his dad, Davy revealed that a “bunch more guys” had shown up and the windows and house ended up being shot at.
The gang members eventually broke into the house and killed the Lloyds and Montis. A video, which was reviewed by the outlet, showed Davy’s and Montis’ bodies having been burned.
Davy’s father confirmed to the outlet that his son’s and Montis’ bodies had been shot and burned.
“As I write, Natalie and Davy Lloyd’s remains are still not home and reunited with the families,” Hawley added. “Their government failed them in their hour of need. Now I ask that you take all available steps to ensure that adequate security measures are in place to safely return Natalie and Davy’s remains to the United States. I ask that you take action as expeditiously as possible.”
Hawley continued to add that while there was a “plan in place” to fly the remains of the couple back to Missouri, there were “serious concerns” regarding the “security situation” in Haiti.
“Natalie and Davy’s bodies will need to be transported to the final point of departure, and until that time, there are major risks,” Hawley added. “The situation on the ground in Port-au-Prince remains anarchic. Haitian gangs are heavily armed and could delay or even hijack the vehicles carrying the Lloyds’ bodies.”
