American couple being held at ransom in Haiti, family says: 'We told them not to go'

An American couple visiting Haiti is being held at ransom after being kidnapped from a bus nearly a week ago, according to their family.

Jean-Dickens Toussaint and his wife, Abigail Toussaint, of Tamarac, Florida, were in Haiti to see ailing relatives and attend a community festival when they were kidnapped Saturday while traveling on a bus from Port-au-Prince, their family said.

A family friend who met the couple at the airport to escort them was also kidnapped, their niece, Christie, who declined to give her last name, told ABC Miami affiliate WPLG.

"They stopped the bus at a stop and they asked for the Americans on the bus and their escorts to come off the bus and then they took them," Christie told the station.

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In response to an inquiry about the incident, the U.S. Department of State did not confirm a kidnapping but said it is "aware of reports of two U.S. citizens missing in Haiti."

The family learned about the ransom demands after the friend escorting the Toussaints contacted his relatives, Christie said.

The kidnappers initially demanded $6,000 for the couple's release, Nikese Toussaint, the sister of Jean Dickens Toussaint, told ABC News. Though once they sent the money, the price went up to $200,000 per person and "we don't have that type of money," Christie told WPLG.

Nikese Toussaint said they did not know how to reach Haiti police so have not contacted them, but said they did reach out to the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.