CRESTWOOD, MO (KPLR) -A missionary with ties to the St. Louis area is among the dead after a terrorist attack in the west African nation of Burkina Faso. Family and friends who gathered Saturday at a Crestwood church say Mike Riddering died doing what he loved, helping others.
Riddering was a member of the South Gate Church, where the organization Sheltering Wings was founded. He was a missionary that helped run an orphanage in the Africa.
Mike Riddering was near the café and the upscale hotel when the militants attacked.
Family and friends spent the day trying to contact Riddering, following news of the attack. Then they heard the news no one wanted to hear, Riddering has not survived.
The militants took an unknown number of hostages and forced others to hide for their lives as gunfire and explosions rang out. An al Qaeda-linked terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault.
