There’s good news for the Kamloops family that survived a terrifying bandit raid on their African safari camp last week.
Lindsay Jones, her 12-year-old daughter Kiara-Leigh and grandmother Penny Jones returned from Tanzania on Saturday, three days after bandits wielding AK-47s tore into their tent and stole all their valuables.
The bandits also shot a Dutch tourist and a Tanzanian camp manager, killing them both.
Once home, the Joneses initially felt they weren’t getting answers on the cost of replacing lost ID, passports, possessions and other miscellanies, but some relief may be on the way.
Their travel insurer, TIC Insurance, is awaiting documents such as police reports and expenses in order to process a claim, according to company representative Leonard Shahriman.
“The Joneses are aware of that and are getting that to us as quickly as they can. And then a determination will be made as to what is payable and what is not,” said Shahriman.
And should the insurance company reject the claim, the safari guide outfit, Jenman Safari Partners, intends to reimburse the family for the services they did not use after cutting the trip short by eight days.
In the immediate aftermath, Jenman Safari Partners also footed the bill for a chartered flight out of the area and onto the Tanzanian capital, as well as their hotel stay and their emergency travel documents. The Joneses’ travel agent and Jenman’s Chris Ronneseth also worked through the night to change return flights and secure the family business class.
“We did everything to bring them home,” he said.
Ronneseth added this type of violence against tourists is quite uncommon, but it’s not exclusive to Africa.
“These incidents can happen anywhere in the world,” he said. “Doesn’t matter where you are, whether it’s Mexico or Africa or anywhere.”
Reaction from the Jones family was not available by press time.







