Father of Kidnapped Amish Girls Feels 'Sad' For Suspects

The father of two Amish girls who went missing for nearly 24 hours last week says he feels "sad" for the two suspects who allegedly kidnapped his children and sexually abused them before the two girls were able to escape.

The 44-year-old father of the two girls, ages 7 and 12, who were kidnapped last week told the Associated Press that he finds it "sad" that the two suspects chose to kidnap his daughters. "They must have ruined their whole life," the father added of the suspects.

The two girls were kidnapped last Wednesday from their parents' roadside stand in Oswegatchie, a rural Amish community located near the border of New York and Canada. Witnesses reported seeing two suspects put the girls in the back of their vehicle before speeding away.

On Thursday evening, the two girls showed up to a home located about 15 miles from where they were kidnapped. They reportedly knocked on the door and asked the resident if he could help them return to their family. The girls then told police that they had been taken to a home and sexually abused by suspects Stephen Howells Jr., 39, and Nicole Vaisey, 25, before they were able to escape.

The couple has been arrested on charges of kidnapping and attempt to physically or sexually abuse the two girls. More charges are expected to come this week.

The St. Lawrence Police Department confirmed after arresting the suspects that Vaisey and Howells may have had intentions to kidnap more children. The police department said in a statement that "there was the definite potential" that more children would have been kidnapped, adding that the suspects' intent was to "take these girls from their home and victimize" them.