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Captive�s kin want help with ransom Ecuadorean kidnappers will not negotiate, brother says The relatives of a Gold Hill man held hostage in the Ecuadorean jungle are asking for help in raising up to $80 million in ransom after another captive was found shot dead Wednesday. Steve Derry, 40, was kidnapped Oct. 12 in Ecuador�s oil-rich jungle by as many as 40 gunmen while working as a helicopter mechanic for Central Point-based Erickson Air-Crane Co. Nine others, including two other Oregonians, were taken hostage as well. The body of one of those men, 54-year-old Ronald Sander of Missouri, was found Wednesday shot five times in the back and draped with a sheet proclaiming in Spanish: "I am a gringo. For nonpayment of ransom. HP company." Sander worked as a technician with Tulsa, Okla.-based Hel-merich & Payne Inc. His murder has prompted Derry�s brothers, Mike Derry of Medford and Paul Derry of La Grande, into action. "The captors aren�t willing to negotiate. It�s come to a stalemate," Mike Derry told the Mail Tribune on Saturday. "It�s been sheer hell. We want to bring them home." Although an article in The Oregonian reported that Derry was angry about Erickson�s refusal to pay the ransom, Derry claims he was misquoted. "I just feel they need to pay up," he said, adding that the Central Point company holds regular meetings for the family members to discuss the situation. "It�s been 115 days. It�s time to bring my brother home." In an attempt to end the ordeal, the Derry brothers have created Ecuador Hostage Fund at U.S. Bank in Medford. However, Mike Derry added, any U.S. Bank branch will accept donations as long as each is made out to the Ecuador Hostage Fund. "They can mail in or drop it off," he said, adding how grateful he is for the support from family, friends and even strangers. "The community has been behind us 100 percent from the very beginning. The phones have never stopped ringing." Derry�s older brother, Paul, spent Friday morning calling Erickson Air-Crane, the U.S. State Department, the White House and American embassies in Bogota, Colombia, and Quito, Ecuador. "I�ve sat here and waited and hoped and waited for this company to get him back," Paul Derry said. "Like it or not, we�re going to have to eat our pride or whatever, but we�ve got to get those guys home." Ecuadorean authorities have said negotiations with the kidnappers had stalled over the amount of ransom. Sources close to the investigation said the kidnappers refused to budge from an initial $80 million ransom demand, yet other reports put the current ransom demand as low as $12 million. The Associated Press reported that after hostage negotiators made a counteroffer of $500,000, the kidnappers used dynamite to blow up a section of oil pipeline Dec. 9. Another offer of $800,000 was turned down and followed by another pipeline attack Dec. 12, which killed eight passengers in a passing bus and seriously injured 19 others. The other captives are Erickson employees Arnold Alford, 41, and Jason Weber, 29, both of Gold Hill, and Dennis Corrin of New Zealand; Helmerich & Payne employee David Bradley, 41, of Casper, Wyo.; plus a Chilean and an Argentine. Two French captives escaped within days of the kidnapping. Alford and Weber�s families remained silent Friday. Erickson Air-Crane officials said again Friday they are following the advice of hostage negotiations experts and are keeping quiet the ensure the men�s safety. "We�re doing everything in our power on a daily, hourly, basis to get these guys home, and we still believe it will happen," said Lee Ramage, Erickson Air-Crane chief operating officer. Ecuadorean officials think the kidnappers are members of the same criminal gang that held seven Canadians and an American for 100 days in 1999 before receiving a ransom reported to be $3.5 million. Mike Derry said his family is concentrating on doing whatever possible to raise funds to bring Steve Derry back � safe and sound. "Nobody�s negotiating for a used car here. We�re negotiating for my brother�s life," he said. "We just want this to end." "This is getting serious now," said Leona Derry, who lives in Idaho. She believes her son, Steve Derry, is still alive. "Something�s got to be done right away before things get out of hand and somebody else loses their life." Establishing the bank account provides an avenue for people to help, she said. Up until now, there was little that friends, relatives or community members could do to show their concern, she said. The money will be used for whatever the needs are, including to help pay the ransom, Derry said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.