Kidnapped U.S. oil worker killed in Ecuador “for non-payment of ransom”

The body of a US oil worker - kidnapped last October for ransom with nine others - was found wrapped in a sheet by police in the jungle about 10 miles south of the Colombian border, BBC reported Thursday. According to the US embassy, Ron Sanders had been shot in the back. "I am a gringo. For non-payment of ransom," was written on the sheet around his body. The identity of the kidnappers is not known. Reports say they demanded $80 million, which the drilling company Helmerich & Payne refused to pay. The US State Department has pledged continued efforts with authorities in Ecuador to free the remaining hostages and "bring to justice the perpetrators of this horrible crime," UPI reports.