2 Mormon missionaries kidnapped in Russia

March 19, 1998
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two American missionaries from the Mormon Church have been abducted in Russia, a State Department official said Thursday.

Andrew Propst of Lebanon, Oregon, and Travis Robert Tuttle of Gilbert, Arizona, both 20, are missing from the Samara mission in Russia. The Samara region is about 500 miles southeast of Moscow.

To protect other missionaries, neither the church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nor the State Department has revealed other details. The official said the State Department considers the abductions "a grave matter."

The Utah-based church says it has taken steps to protect other missionaries overseas.

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