Pirates Blame U.S. for Deaths of Former O.C. Couple, Seattle Pair

A Somali pirate says in remarks reported today that the U.S. Navy caused the deaths of four kidnapped Americans on a yacht in the Indian Ocean by opening fire on the hostage takers.

According to the Navy, the Sterett had been shadowing a private 58-foot sailboat Quest since it was taken in open waters off Oman on Friday, and on Tuesday, Navy SEALs boarded the vessel amid small-arms fire in response to the grenade attack.

The Navy says the grenade missed the ship and no Navy personnel were injured, but four Americans were found fatally shot aboard the sailboat—former Newport Beach residents Jean and Scott Adams and their sailing mates, Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle of Seattle.

Military forces also found two pirates already dead and killed two more, according to the Navy.

The pirates offer a different account.

Liban Muse, a member of the pirate group involved in the incident, told the Los Angeles Times in a telephone interview from the Somali coast that the U.S. military fired first.

"We had no intention of killing the hostages until the Americans began shooting at us,'' Muse is reported as saying. "Our preference is only to take ships and ransom money, not to kill. But governments are targeting and killing our people.''

Lt. Col. Mike Lawhorn, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, part of an international coalition of anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean, dismissed those claims, according to the newspaper.

A website on the Quest maintained by the Adams says that Jean was a former dentist and that the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marine del Rey was the couple's mail drop.

The Adams, a retired couple, had been sailing around the world for more  than seven years in their yacht. They were unhappy being "dirt dwellers" so they took to the sea on their yacht, distributing Bibles around the world, their website said. Photos show a smiling couple who delivered Bibles to remote villages "from New Zealand to Alaska to Central America—and now from Panama, through French Polynesia, the Cooks, Samoa, Tonga and back to New Zealand."

"We seek fertile ground for the Word and homes for our Bibles," the website said. "Often, the ultimate homes are best found by people who are already living locally and seeking and cultivating that fertile ground. AND even more extraordinary are the times when people have been praying for Bibles for their group or their schools and when we arrive we are often greeted by the attitude of, 'We were expecting you.'"

Their voyage began in December 2004 and was expected to last 8 or 10 years, the website said. The leg of the journey begun this winter went from India to the Mediterranean, by way of the Arabian and Red seas. The couple hoped to reach Crete in the spring before sailing to Istanbul.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen pirates from the incident were in U.S. custody today and are expected to face prosecution.

For years, the Gulf of Aden has grown increasingly dangerous. Somalia has been in anarchy for years, with pirates taking dozens of ships—even oil tankers and container ships—and hundreds of hostages.

The Adams, who had been cruising for more than six years, were devout Catholics and had been distributing Bibles around the world. Their daughter, Emily Elizabeth Sem, issued a statement through the FBI on Tuesday night.

"Our loved ones were tragically taken from us and our hearts are broken,'' the San Diego County resident said. "While we wish to grieve in private, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the brave men and women of the Navy and other military branches who risked their lives trying to save them.

"We would also like to thank the FBI and State Department for their swift and kind treatment of this matter. Our hearts also go out to the families of Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay. We cannot thank you all enough.''

—City News Service