Indiana family to return home after missionary father shot, killed in S. Cameroons ⁰

The family of an American missionary who was shot and killed in front of his wife and son in Cameroon will travel back home to Indiana this week, a pastor told IndyStar on Thursday.

Charles Wesco, 44, was fatally wounded while sitting in a car in Bamenda, Cameroon on Tuesday, according to Dave Halyaman, an assistant pastor at Believers Baptist Church in Warsaw, Indiana. The church sent the Wescos to do missionary work in the African nation.

Wesco’s wife, Stephanie, and his second oldest son were in the car when he was struck in the head, Halyaman said.

The U.S. State Department confirmed to IndyStar on Tuesday that a U.S. citizen died in Bamenda, but didn’t provide the person’s identity or further details on the person’s death.

The town where the Wescos were staying is in the nation’s English-speaking area, where armed separatists have been fighting to create an independent state, the Associated Press reported.

Wesco’s wife and their eight children have left the area and as of Thursday morning were headed to the Cameroon capital of Yaoundé, Halyaman said. They plan to fly back to the U.S. on Saturday, he said. The family is from Mishawaka, a city in northern Indiana. They traveled to Cameroon almost two weeks ago , Halyaman said.

Halyaman said the Wescos were aware of the dangers in the region.

“They knew there was fighting,” he told IndyStar. “They didn’t go into it blind.”

Halyaman said the body of Charles Wesco is expected to be flown back to the U.S. by the end of this week for a funeral in Warsaw.

Wesco’s brother is Indiana House Rep. Timothy Wesco. Gov. Holcomb released a statement on Tuesday, saying he and his wife “are thinking of Rep. Tim Wesco and his family as they grieve the death of his brother Charles.”

Halyaman said the church mourns Wesco’s death, but said they believe “God is in perfect control.” He described Wesco as a business owner — he ran a piano tuning service — who “loved God and loved service.”

“He was smart,” Halyaman said, “and he had a good heart, too.”

Source: Indy Star

Now that you are here

The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

Bank transaction: Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Banking IBAN: GB51 BARC 2049 1103 9130 15

Swift BIC BARC GB22XX

SORT CODE 20-49-11, ACCOUNT NUMBER – 03913015 Barclay PLC, UK

The Board looks forward to hearing from the readers.

Signed by the Group Chairman on behalf of the Board of Directors

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Email: soteragbawebai@gmail.com