On Tuesday, an American tourist and her tour guide were abducted during a safari in a tourist wildlife park in Uganda.

According to a statement by Poly Namaye, the deputy police spokesperson, 35-year-old Kimberley Sue Endecott was abducted with the guide, Jean Paul, in an ambush by gunmen. The incident reportedly took place between 6 and 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the country’s most popular tourist destination.

An elderly Canadian couple was also held at gunpoint but were rescued by the camp manager.

“I suspect the kidnappers left them because they were elderly. They took all their possessions,” Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said, reported Reuters.

Namaye also said that the kidnappers had used the American citizen’s phone to make a ransom demand of $500,000, adding they “strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind the kidnap.”

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a wildlife refuge with more than 600 bird species and 2,500 elephants and is seen as a safe destination for tourists, The New York Times reported. The park is 200 miles west of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala and located near Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the statement, “the Joint Security teams, have cut off all exit areas on the border between Uganda and the DRC in search for the victims, since the park is along the border.”

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