Filipino-American woman kidnapped in July is freed

A Filipino-American woman seized more than two months ago in the southern Philippines has been released, officials on Basilan island say.Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann was freed on Sunday evening and walked to a local township.Her American son Kevin, 14, and a Filipino nephew Romnick Jakaria, 19, seized with her, are still being held by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants. It is not known whether a ransom was paid to secure her release. Ms Lunsmann is "a bit weak" after her ordeal, said Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat."We thank God for this release," he added.The US embassy in a statement that the release "could not have occurred without the concerted efforts of Philippine government officials" and the personal involvement of Mayor Lobregat. The three were kidnapped on 12 July at a resort on the island of Tictabon, where they were on holiday.Ms Lunsmann, a 41-year-old vet, was born in the Zamboanga but was adopted by a US family and grew up in the United States.She lives in Virginia, but has visited the southern Philippines province of Mindanao at least five times before, local police said.