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Hostages� families split over efforts Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Carole Cook, left, and Jackie Foley wear yellow wristbands and lapel ribbons in honor of hostage Steve Derry, a Gold Hill resident and one of three Central Point-based Erickson Air-Crane employees being held for ransom in Ecuador. Worried that their friend may be killed if a ransom isn�t paid, the Friends of Erickson Air-Crane Workers will stage a peaceful rally Wednesday at Erickson. The group gathered at the Rogue Riviera restaurant Monday night to speak to the media. Derry family stops waiting By Melissa Martin and Scott smith The families of two Gold Hill men taken hostage in Ecuador have broken their silence, saying the family and friends of another captive are endangering efforts to free all the men still held. But relatives and friends of hostage Steve Derry, 40, of Gold Hill, say time is running out and they must do whatever they can to free their loved ones. "I have to respect the decision (of the other families to remain silent)," said Mike Derry, of Medford, Steve�s brother. "But I�m trying to keep my brother alive. I have to do what I have to do." Rally Wednesday CENTRAL POINT � Friends of one of the seven foreign oil workers being held hostage in the Ecuadorean jungle are planning a noon-till-dark "Help Our Hostages" rally Wednesday. The rally will be held outside Erickson Air-Crane Co., the Central Point company Steve Derry, 40, was working for as a helicopter mechanic when he was kidnapped Oct. 12. Two other Gold Hill men, who also worked for Erickson Air-Crane, were taken hostage as well. Derry�s friends and relatives spent Sunday posting invitations across the Rogue Valley, inviting people to attend the rally. Derry spoke to reporters, including a Portland television station broadcasting live, from the Rogue Riviera Supper Club near Gold Hill Monday. Friends gathered in the bar next door to show support. Until recently, the Derry family had been abiding by Erickson Air-Crane�s wishes that family remain silent. Steve Derry, 40, was among 10 men taken hostage Oct. 12. The kidnappers have demanded as much as $80 million for their release. Employees of foreign companies drilling oil in Ecuador�s jungles, the men were abducted by as many as 40 gunmen. Two French captives escaped. The hostages include the three Gold Hill men employed by the Central Point-based helicopter crane company and a fourth from New Zealand. The body of one man, 54-year-old Ronald Sander of Missouri, was found last week 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 prompted Derry�s family and friends to take action, partly by creating the "Ecuador Hostage Fund" at U.S. Bank. But in a press conference held Monday in Medford, relatives of the other captives from Gold Hill � Arnold Alford, 41, and Jason Weber, 29, � said "the divided approach only benefits the kidnappers," who can read about the division and the money-raising efforts on the Internet. Asking that no questions be directed to them, Alford�s family and Weber�s wife, Lisa, said they believed the Derrys "can only make matters worse" by talking publicly about their frustrations. "We want the community to know that while we appreciate the intentions of the Derrys, we do not support their actions," said Alford�s wife, Mindy, who spoke for both families. Alford�s parents, Bill and JoAnn, and his sister, Kara, also were present at the press conference. Acknowledging that the kidnappers apparently control the situation, Alford�s wife said the families are concerned that discussion about a special ransom fund at a Medford bank will lead the kidnappers to "drag this whole thing out." "We believe that the families, the companies and the community are all best served by a united front," she added. "The divided approach only benefits the kidnappers." Alford�s wife also said she wanted to assure the community that Erickson is working "each and every day to get our men back as quickly and safely as possible." Lee Ramage, chief operating officer for Erickson, reiterated Monday the company�s position that it will not comment on specific details on the case because to do so may jeopardize negotiations for the hostages� freedom. He said Erickson is in daily contact with officials in the United States and Ecuador as they attempt to end the ordeal. Mike Derry said he has been comforted by Sander�s autopsy report released to the family that showed that the captives are being well-fed and have not been physically abused. "I�m hoping (Steve) has made friends with these guys," Derry said. "He�s a very likable guy." A former U.S. Marine, Steve Derry is an avid outdoorsman who has been traveling around the world for Erickson for the past decade, said his friend, Neil Campbell, of Gold Hill. Since March, Derry has been working a rotation of three weeks in Ecuador, with three weeks off at home. The former logger had been back on the job three days when abductors stormed the camp, calling Derry and others by name. "He�s pretty resilient," said Carole Cook, a Gold Hill friend. Added Jackie Foley, of Gold Hill, "He saw a man killed while working in Malaysia." Friend Shayne Maxwell has sent e-mails to television networks and wrote a letter to President George Bush to try to bring national attention to the hostage crisis. "We just want them home," Maxwell said. "We�ve been quiet far too long." Ecuadorean authorities have said negotiations with the kidnappers had stalled over the amount of ransom. A Quito newspaper reported the kidnappers demanded an $80 million ransom, yet other reports put the demand as low as $12 million. The Associated Press has reported that each time after hostage negotiators made two significantly lower counteroffers in December, the kidnappers used dynamite to blow up a section of oil pipeline in Ecuador. The second bombing killed eight people and seriously injured 19 others. Ecuadorean officials believe 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. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.