Victim Gerfa News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Negotiator mark thundercloud thought he knew why the kidnappers released gerfa. >> their intent was to let her go to help raise more money. now she's out. and now she's got to talk to these people. >> right. >> someone needs to be there with her. >> reporter: heiko decided he should stay in lynchburg, try to find the money, and mark thundercloud moved his operations from the family's kitchen to a hotel room in manila. and there, as one month passed, then another, they tried to help gerfa deal with mr. so. >> december 6th was the last day. that we talked with mr. so. basically, he was saying, "...

The philippines, had always felt safe there. her older sister married a u.s. navy sailor and moved to america in 1985. brought then 16-year-old gerfa with her, hoping to give her a chance at a better life. >> she was so excited about the opportunity. i remember she worked at little caesar's pizza and that was the greatest thing, to get a job. >> reporter: she had a son, josh, went back to community college to improve herself. and there she met a german immigrant named heiko. and from then on that was it. they were a family. she become a lab technician, heiko a maintenance man.

This weekend. nebraska and iowa seeing tough conditions. flooding expected in missouri sunday. now, back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. kidnapped victim gerfa had been released. but what about the fate of her son. and her cousin? here's keith morrison. >> reporter: in the dark of a philippine jungle, surrounded by men with hate in their eyes, gerfa lunsmann looked, terrified, at her 14-year-old son. an approaching car had put the kidnappers on alert. and now one of them held an automatic rifle to kevin's head. >> i just said, "don't move, son" while my entire ...

They bought a house in a leafy neighborhood of lynchburg, virginia and had kevin. and the immigrants' son became an all-american kid. he was 14 that summer of 2011. smart, studious, and looking forward to the start of high school in the fall. >> he's this normal american kid who likes pizza and hot dogs and burgers, hang out with his friends, play video games, ride on his skateboard. >> reporter: they lived frugally, saved their money. which is how eventually heiko could afford his used mercedes sports car and gerfa and kevin that vacation trip to the philippines. life was good. but now it was...

>> yeah, no, uh, your son -- >> is she with you? can i talk to them? i want to know if they're okay. >> reporter: mr. so didn't say. meanwhile, fbi agents in the philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf's strongholds -- basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they'd been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. >> we travelled to basilan to talk with the politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. >> reporter: heiko had the fbi to help. but governme...