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CNN Live Today

Missionary Killed in Rescue Attempt of Hostages

Aired June 07, 2002 - 14:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A very sad end to a story that has involved two American missionaries who have been held hostage in the Philippines over the last year. Martin Burnham was shot and killed during a rescued -- a rescue attempt earlier today. His wife, Gracia, was also shot, but she is expected to survive.

And now this news that apparently Martin Burnham had a premonition that something bad was going to happen and wrote a letter a few days ago to his three children. His dying wish that that letter would make it to his children.

Let's go to Andrea Koppel at the State Department with more information on this letter.

That just brings a tear to your eye in a story that has been so heart wrenching over the last year -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: It's both eerie and poignant, Daryn.

We got that story from a Filipino major general who is in charge of the Abu Sayyaf and the hostage tracking. And he said that Gracia told him about this letter that Martin had written a couple of days ago just before she was flown to Manila. She said that this letter existed, that a couple of days ago Martin had just out of the blue had a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him. And he wrote this letter in which, we don't know very many details about it obviously, but in which he says good-bye, presumably, to his three children, age 15, 13 and 11, and gives it to Gracia. The letter was lost in the firefight that happened earlier today in the Philippines. And this major general said after Gracia mentioned it, they went back to the jungle and they found this letter.

In addition, CNN has learned some of the details of the final hours of the Burnham's captivity, both happy and a sad ending. According to major general, one of the senior Philippine military officials, he said that his group of Filipino soldiers were tracking this group of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas for about 12 days. And then, at 7:00 a.m. this morning, they got a break. They found what they thought were some boot prints in the mud, which they then proceeded to follow for the next four-and-a-half hours. They came upon what they thought might have been the Abu Sayyaf lunch at about 11:30 in the morning. And sometime between 11:30 and 2:30 in the afternoon, Abu Sayyaf took a rest. This group took a rest near a stream in a very, very dense jungle. You got to imagine it is pouring rain, it is miserable. And at 2:30 in the afternoon, this group of Filipino rangers tries to surround Abu Sayyaf soldiers. They have no idea at the time if the Burnhams and a Filipino nurse, the hostages, are in their custody. But they find this group. They try to surround them.

At that point, Abu Sayyaf realizes what's going on. There's a 30-minute firefight that takes place that happened simultaneously with Filipino soldiers and Abu Sayyaf firing back and forth. Abu Sayyaf retreat. About 30 guerrillas retreat into the woods. And it is only at that point after the firefight has ended, Daryn, that the rangers discover Gracia Burnham in the jungle. She was completely disoriented. She had a gunshot wound to her right leg. The rangers administered first aid.

These are the pictures of Gracia, I believe, arriving at one of the military hospitals either before or after she's operated on. She has no idea, at this time, that her husband, Martin, is dead and doesn't find out about this, I'm told, until after she has had this operation and has come out of her -- she was sedated. After she came out of this sedation, she was told that her husband had been killed.

KAGAN: Such a -- such a tragic end to a difficult story of these people who basically have given their lives to missionary work.

Now for the three kids, where have they been over the last year, do you know?

KOPPEL: Yes, the three kids who had been living with their parents in the Philippines, but because their parents were on a -- on a 18-year anniversary trip, they were back in Kansas with Martin's parents. And they have been living with his parents for the last -- more than a year. And we're told that they were actually staying with Gracia's parents for the last few days, and it was her parents who broke the news to the children this morning.

KAGAN: I just don't even know how you do that, let alone turn over that letter that, as we said at the top, that Martin Burnham made sure that he wrote to his three children who he will never see again.

We heard from Martin Burnham's father and brother earlier today. And I understand they're going to be guests later today on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Andrea, thanks for that report.

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