“My name is Kayla Mueller. I need your help,” the then 26-year-old woman from Prescott, Arizona says at the start of the video, per ABC News. “I’ve been here too long and I’ve been very sick and it’s very terrifying here.” Even though the video is three years old, this video of a woman taken hostage by the terrorist organization still chills the blood.
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Kayla, along with her boyfriend, was taken hostage by ISIS on Aug. 4, 2013. She was in Syria on a Doctors Without Borders humanitarian mission when armed gunmen swarmed her car and abducted her. Three weeks later, the video of her plea for help was sent to her parents as a “proof-of-life.”
Kayla’s family tried to negotiate with ISIS, initially working with the non-governmental aid groups, but they didn’t speak directly with the terrorist group until 10-months after Kayla’s kidnapping. ISIS had Kaya record an audio clip, demanding the release of Dr. Afia Siddiqui in exchange for her freedom. “If this not achievable, they are demanding 5 million euros to ensure my release,” she said.
The video, provided by Kayla’s family for a “20/20” special about her (set to air on Aug. 26), is only ten seconds long and would be the last time her loved ones saw her. Kayla spent 18 months as an ISIS sex slave to the terrorist organization’s leader, Abu Sayaff, before getting killed in a Jordanian airstrike. The last word her family ever heard from Kayla, in the audio clip, was “Goodbye.”
“You just go into almost a catatonic state, I think,” Kayla’s father, Carl Mueller, told ABC News when describing his reaction after seeing his daughter in this video. “You can’t even stand up.” Her mother, Marsha Mueller, said that she “saw how thin [Kayla] looked, but I saw that her eyes were very clear and steady. It broke my heart, but I also saw her strength.”
The ABC “20/20” special report about Kayla Mueller, “The Girl Left Behind,” is set to air on Aug. 26 at 10 P.M. ET.
Our thoughts go out to Kayla’s family and friends.