One expert reminds travelers to always have your guard with you when on your safari.
After a California woman was kidnapped on safari in Uganda, one travel guide is encouraging future tourists not to cancel their plans.
Pauline Frommer from Frommers Travel Guides said the kidnapping of Kimberly Sue Endicott was an isolated incident and that traveling to parts of Africa for safari is safe.
"I don’t think you need to cancel your trips. This is one incident in the tens of thousands of people who go there but you do want to make sure all precautions are taken," she told Inside Edition. "The government of Uganda is saying that an armed guard was supposed to be with them but that guard wasn’t with them. So, make sure you guard is with you whenever you go out into the wilderness."
Endicott lives in Orange County and the grandmother of one runs a skin care business. Her family and friends said going on safari was the trip of a lifetime for her. But then they ended up dealing with an unthinkable crisis. Her kidnappers demanded $500,000 ransom.
Endicott was reportedly found safe on April 7 after ransom was paid, though it wasn't clear how much ransom was paid and by whom.
Former FBI and DEA agent Robert Strang runs an international crisis management company.
"You don’t want to be the one to make a decision on whether to pay $500,000 in a suitcase in cash in Uganda in the middle of the night. You want to work with police, you want to work with security, and you want to be able to deal with this in the right away," Strang told Inside Edition.
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