TWIN FALLS -- One of the seven Idahoans who spent nearly three weeks in a Haitian jail continues to tell his story -- adding perspective to what exactly happened on the mission trip.
From the beginning it's been clear that trip to Haiti was led and organized by Laura Silsby. What hasn't been clear is exactly how much others in the group knew.
Steve McMullin said he was kept out of a lot of the dealings.
"I was told by other people that they had no parents, that those parents were dead," he said.
McMullin is talking about the 33 Haitian children he's accused of kidnapping and trafficking. The group got the children on Jan. 27, three days before they were arrested.
"That night, we spent the night on the street, we got the kids and then we spent the night on the street in the bus, because we had no place to go," McMullin said.
The next day they tried to get the children out of the country.
"We spent a lot of time going from agency to agency to agency to agency, looking for the documents, getting documents,” he said. “I never did see any documents.”
The lack of those documents led to their arrest.
"I figured it would be just a big misunderstanding and that we would be out in a couple days," he said.
McMullin said he didn’t think there was any intention to cut corners.
"Most of the time, when I was with the kids I was just helping the kids, and taking care of their needs," he said.
For the next several weeks, he spent his days and nights in a Haitian jail.
During that time an NBC producer said he was handed a note that listed the names of everyone on it but two people and implied that the group had turned on Silsby.
“I have no idea what the note is,” McMullin said. “I never saw the note. I saw it on TV after I got home, but that's the only knowledge that I have of it.”
McMullin said that he had talked to others about the note. He said they didn’t know about it and that he had no explanation about where or who the note might have come from.
McMullin said the group was answering a call from God.
"We were a bunch of people who felt a need to go help the Haitians, so that's what we went and did," he said.
Despite the imprisonment, McMullin said to him, the mission was a success.
“I don't know why He chose to use that particular venue, but He did," he said.
Because Laura Silsby, the last of the 10 Americans is still in a Haitian jail, the other Idahoans who have returned home, told KTVB that they
are hesitant to talk about details until Silsby returns home safely.
Last week, the judge in the case announced a new charge: "Organization of Irregular Trips."
At this point, it's still unclear whether all of the Americans or just Silsby face this charge. That charge is tacked on to the two other charges the group already faces.
The judge has until May to decide whether to take these cases to trial.
