The third in a five-part series on Michael Wells, a Mississippi man being held hostage in Lebanon (click for link) by Walker Harris “Unnatural death always provoked a peculiar unease, an uncomfortable realization that there were still some things that might not be susceptible to bureaucratic control.” ― P.D. James, The Lighthouse "The government is using every ethical resource at its disposal." The tall woman portrayed no empathy at all. Ellen van Oss was was always in control. Her words, her manner, her clothing, her hair. all carefully selected to give the image of control. Long blonde hair tightly pulled back into a controlled bun, pulling slightly at her temples, as if indirectly controling for wrinkles. Ms. von Oss's unlined face betrayed no emotion, and her eyes were guarded as she spoke to me. A member of the press, I was the enemy. Ellen van Oss has been assigned to the Wells case since those first harrowing days of captivity. ...
The second in a five-part series on a Mississippi man being held hostage in Lebanon (click for link) By Walker Harris This week marks five months that Michael Wells has been held in captivity in Lebanon. Late last year, the Vicksburg native was captured in Beirut and has been held for ransom by a radical extremist group. For the duration of is captivity, his wife, Lainie Wells, has held on to the hope that her husband would be freed - that his time would come. From her home in the Audubon Hills area of Vicksburg, she described what the ordeal has been like. "I seldom get any information," she said, "and everyone is doing their job, but it is not making any difference." Lainie has spent her adult life observing nature, and the preternatural stillness that she has developed as a wildlife biologist is on full display during the interview. As a seasoned journalist, I have to admit that it is a little unnerving to hold a conversation with someone who moves i...