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�So thrilled they are alive� photo by Drew Fleming Gold Hill men freed, along with others in Ecuador By Melissa Martin Bearded, famished and thirsty, Gold Hill hostages Steve Derry, Arnold Alford and Jason Weber walked out of the Amazon jungle and into freedom Thursday morning. The seven hostages were interviewed by Ecuador and U.S. officials at the U.S. Embassy in Quito and then taken to a downtown hotel under tight security Thursday evening. "I�m relieved � I�m just relieved," said a joyful Mike Derry, of Medford. On Thursday night, he was eagerly awaiting a telephone call about the coming reunion with his brother, Steve. Chronology Oct. 12, 2000 � Day 1 � Masked assailants slip into oil camps in the isolated Amazon jungle region of El Coca and kidnap 10 men: five Americans, an Argentine, a Chilean, two Frenchmen and a pilot from New Zealand. Among the Americans are Gold Hill residents Arnold Alford, 41, Steve Derry, 40, and Jason Weber, 29. They are employed by Erickson Air-Crane, based in Central Point. Oct. 16, 2000 � Day 4 � Two French pilots employed by Aeromaster SA escape. Oct. 19, 2000 � Day 7 � Friends, family and community members gather at Gold Hill Park for a prayer vigil to remember the hostages. Nov. 28, 2000 � Day 47 � Kidnappers demand $80 million in ransom. They later drop the demand to $15 million. Dec. 6, 2000 � Day 55 � U.S. postal worker hands out helicopter lapel pins with yellow ribbons to remind the community of the hostages� plight. Jan. 31, 2001 � Day 111 � Missouri resident Ronald Sanders, an employee of Tulsa-based oil company Helmerich & Payne Inc., is found shot to death. Feb. 5, 2001 � Day 116 � Mike Derry, brother of hostage Steve Derry, breaks the silence requested by Erickson Air-Crane and talks to reporters. Feb. 7, 2001 � Day 118 � Friends of Steve Derry sponsor a rally outside Erickson Air-Crane. Members of the Alford and Weber families and Erickson Air-Crane officials tell the media they will remain silent until the hostages� release. Feb. 14, 2001 � Day 125 � Erickson and the oil companies agree on a settlement. Feb. 22, 2001 � Day 133 � The $13 million ransom, packaged in non-sequential $100 bills, is thrown from a helicopter near the San Miguel River. March 1, 2001 � Day 140 � The seven hostages walk out of the Amazon jungle and are safely delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Quito. "I�m just anxious to talk to him and compare what we�ve heard to what he�s experienced,�� Mike Derry said. Friends who had received early telephone calls from Ecuador media about the release posted "Welcome Home" signs and talked with reporters at Gold Hill Park Thursday. "I�m so thrilled they are alive and coming home, I can�t even describe it," said Shayne Maxwell of Gold Hill. Also rejoicing was Neil Campbell, who described his friend, Steve Derry, as an ex-Marine with honed survival skills. "I will be a lot happier in a couple of days when I actually see them," Campbell said. Kidnappers sent the seven hostages out alone on a long jungle trek to a prearranged rendezvous point for their release. They were picked up by a military patrol and taken to Lago Agrio, 110 miles northeast of the capital, Quito. An Associated Press photograph shows Derry, exhausted and bug-bitten but smiling and carrying a pack across a field. "They were in good shape, but they had cuts and abrasions from walking quite awhile through the jungle," Campbell said. The men were taken to the U.S. Embassy for interviews with the FBI and Ecuadorean authorities, said U.S. Congressman Greg Walden of Oregon. They also had a medical exam. After they were cleared by the U.S. government, they were released to Erickson Air-Crane and the other employers, he said. "Our prayers have been answered," Walden said. "Their return to American soil is imminent. "This has been an extraordinarily difficult time for hostages, families, co-workers and the people at Erickson Air-Crane," Walden said. "The waiting has been excruciating." Derry, Arnold, Weber and a fourth hostage, New Zealand pilot Dennis Corrin, are employees of Erickson Air-Crane. The helicopter company issued a statement Thursday thanking the Ecuadorean and United States authorities for their help. "We wish to express our deepest gratitude to both the families and the Erickson employees for their patience, faith and support during this trying period," chief operating officer Lee Ramage wrote. "We send our prayers and support to the Sander family," he added, referring to the Missouri hostage found shot to death Jan. 31. The U.S. State Department released a statement Thursday promising continued efforts to bring the kidnappers to justice. "The U.S. government will continue working closely with the government of Ecuador to locate, arrest and bring the perpetrators of this horrible crime to a court of law to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible," the statement read. The hostage crisis attracted worldwide attention after friends held a rally outside Erickson Air-Crane headquarters in Central Point. Maxwell created a Web site that had 21,000 hits in the first four days and solicited e-mails from around the globe. "The response to the Web site was tremendous," Maxwell said. "We heard from a man who was part of a tourist group taken hostage in 1996 and held for 38 days." Now family and friends await the day they can greet the men who have been absent from their lives for nearly five months. "It would be nice if there were people there when Steve got off the plane," said Ken White, of Gold Hill, who said he is eager to throw a steak on the barbecue for Steve Derry on a Sunday afternoon in the near future. "But friends need to be there when he�s ready for friends to be around." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.