Mickey Grossman, a former IDF paratrooper who fought in the Yom Kippur war, embarked on an Amazon trek over three months ago with the purpose of raising awareness for the destruction of rainforests, whose plants have yielded a variety of medications, including the drugs that saved his own life a few years ago.

His wife Noga said that her husband called her against the captors' orders shortly before his phone was taken away.


"He told me, 'They want to kill me, but I won't go like a sheep to the slaughter,'".


"There have been past cases in which the (tribesmen) just killed their captives because they were white," said his son. "They hate white people because of the oil companies that operated in the area in the past."

Grossman's team was hijacked by a group of 15 armed gunmen whose affiliation was unclear, as well as several members of the Huaorani tribe that is native to the area.





Update: According to a very recent update they were just rescued after long hours in captivity with the help of another team which helped them to escape. It was possible to locate them thanks to a special satelite device Grossman has,which sends his exact location to Google Earth.



Mickey's wife, Noga, related the story of the rescue effort. "Last night an oil company's car carrying two people arrived at the camp where Mickey and his team were being held. They went to talk to the Indians and on their way out whispered to Mickey in English that he must prepare to be extracted at 4 am."


"Initially, Mickey's team members, some six porters, were afraid to make an escape, but Mickey convinced them it was the only way out of there," Noga Grossman said. "And sure enough at 4 am, in the dark, a team came to rescue them and drove them on roads paved by the oil companies in the Amazon rainforest. They drove for three hours to a place called Rio Napo."


There, Ecuador government officials and a TV crew awaited the team. The government official apologized to Grossman for the ordeal he and his team underwent, and Grossman asked him to take the group to the next point on his journey. He intends to continue his journey despite having lost a major part of his equipment to the Indians.


"He still has the most important equipment, the electronic equipment, which is imperative for the rest of the journey," Noga said. "Mickey is annoyed but is going ahead. That's his nature, he won’t stop now."


It can now be revealed that Grossman carried with him advanced technological devices that sent a satellite signal to Google Earth every 10 minutes which allowed the Israeli-American team to trace his exact location.


"I didn’t believe he was rescued until I spoke to him on the satellite phone," Noga said. "It was a sigh of relief."



Published: 08.07.12


An Israeli American man was kidnapped on Sunday while hiking in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador.


Mickey Grossman, 64, embarked on an Amazon trek over three months ago with the purpose of raising awareness for the destruction of rainforests, whose plants have yielded a variety of medications, including the cancer drugs that saved his own life a few years ago.


Grossman, a former IDF paratrooper, fought under Ariel Sharon in the Yom Kippur war. He moved to the United States with his wife and four children two decades ago, setting up a homestead in Orlando, Florida. The former police detective then became a businessman and an Amazon tour guide.


Grossman, who was accompanied by six porters, was supposed to cover an unprecedented course of 5,000 miles stretching between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. According to his son, Shahar Grossman, they have managed to trudge 1,200 miles so far.


The group has recently reached the Yasuni National Park, which does not allow Westerners to enter.


"This is the Indians' area, and they do not like foreigners," Shahar said.



Making an effort to avoid being detected in the jungle, the group made its way east, to alleviate the Grossman family's concerns.


"There have been past cases in which the (tribesmen) just killed their captives because they were white," Shahar said. "They hate white people because of the oil companies that operated in the area in the past."


According to the family, Grossman's team was hijacked by a group of 15 armed gunmen whose affiliation was unclear, as well as several members of the Huaorani tribe that is native to the area. The team was taken to a site located 30 miles away from the camp where it was staying.


"I am sitting and waiting impatiently for more information," Noga, Grossman's wife, said. She anticipated that if her husband is rescued, he will continue the trek, although his equipment was seized by the captors.


"He won't give up on this journey easily," she added. "He can still avoid these tribes down the road. He's very stubborn. He won't give up the equipment easily either, although it's a little different when you have gun pointed at your face."



She said that her husband called her against the captors' orders shortly before his phone was taken away.


"He told me, 'They want to kill me, but I won't go like a sheep to the slaughter,'" Noga said.







As it is being mentioned above he and his team were just rescued and he continues his journey.









http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4265399,00.html



http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4265788,00.html