American Foreigner Kayla Mueller's Parents Have Been Notified of Her Death

Kayla Mueller's Parents Say They Have Been Notified Of Her Death

The Huffington Post | By Charlotte Alfred

Posted: 02/10/2015 10:07 am EST Updated: 02/10/2015 3:59 pm EST

The parents of an American woman held by the Islamic State group said in a statement on Tuesday that they have been notified of her death.

The White House said Kayla Jean Mueller's family received a message from her captors over the weekend, which was authenticated by the U.S. intelligence community, the Associated Press reports.

On Friday, the Islamic State group released a statement claiming Mueller had been killed in a Jordanian airstrike in Raqqa, Syria. The Jordanian government said later that it was "highly skeptical" about the extremists' statement.

Mueller, who is from Prescott, Arizona, was captured by militants in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in August 2013. U.S. officials acknowldged last year that a 26-year-old American woman was being held by the group, but did not identify her out of fears for her safety.

Mueller's family honored her dedication to humanitarian work in their statement on Tuesday, according to The Arizona Republic. "We are so proud of the person Kayla was and the work that she did while she was here with us. She lived with purpose, and we will work every day to honor her legacy," the statement read.

"Our hearts are breaking for our only daughter, but we will continue on in peace, dignity, and love for her," the family said.

The family also released a letter that Mueller wrote while in captivity in 2014, BuzzFeed notes. "I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I'm doing," Mueller wrote. "[I] have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it."

President Barack Obama sent his condolences to the family on behalf on the American people in a statement on Tuesday.

"In how she lived her life, she epitomized all that is good in our world," he said. "No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death."

More from The Associated Press:

Mueller had been working in Turkey assisting Syrian refugees, according to a 2013 article in The Daily Courier, her hometown newspaper. She told the paper that she was drawn to help with the situation in Syria.

"For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal," she said. "It's important to stop and realize what we have, why we have it and how privileged we are. And from that place, start caring and get a lot done."

According to the newspaper, Mueller had been working with the humanitarian aid agency Support to Life, as well as a local organization that helped female Syrian refugees develop skills.

A 2007 article about Mueller from the same newspaper said she was a student at Northern Arizona University and was active in the Save Darfur Coalition. A statement from the office of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Mueller graduated in 2009 and had worked to help people in need in India, Israel, the Palestinian territories and in Arizona.

Mueller is the fourth American to die while being held by Islamic State militants. Three other Americans - journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig - were beheaded by the group.

Journalist Austin Tice, of Houston, Texas, disappeared in August 2012 while covering Syria's civil war. It's not clear what entity is holding him, but it is not believed to be the Islamic State group or the Syrian government, his family has said.

Read the Mueller family statement below:

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