PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian police detained 10Americans on Saturday on suspicion of trying to take children out ofthe country without proper papers amid the chaos following the Jan. 12earthquake.
The Americans were taken into custody with about 33children while trying to reach the Dominican Republic, saidCommunications Minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue.
"Thereare allegations of child trafficking and that really couldn't befarther from the truth," said Sean Lankford of Meridian, Idaho, whosewife and daughter were among those detained.
"They were going toget the medical attention they needed. They were going to get theclothes and the food and the love they need to be healthy and to startrecovering from the tragedy that just happened," Lankford told TheAssociated Press.