Ex-hostage Keith Stansell is finally home

Ex-hostage arrives in Florida

By Todd Ruger
Published Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 2:37 a.m.

LAKEWOOD RANCH — After almost 51/2 years as a hostage of Colombian guerrillas, where he was forced wear heavy chains around his neck while marching for hours and while sleeping, Keith Stansell is finally home.

Stansell slipped into his parents' three-bedroom Edgewater Village home Saturday afternoon, saying only that he wanted to spend time with family members, including his two teenage children who live in Sarasota.

He arrived on a private jet from San Antonio, where he and two other men who were also hostages had been receiving medical care after their daring rescue two weeks ago. He spoke briefly to the media in Texas, asking for another six weeks of privacy.

"Today, for the first time, we're going home," Stansell, 44, said. "There's family members waiting for us. Let us go home and be family men again."
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