The State Department confirmed in a Tuesday statement that a U.S. citizen was abducted in Niger, CNN reported.

“We are aware of a US citizen abducted in Niger,” a State Department spokesperson told CNN. “We are providing their family all possible consular assistance.” (RELATED: 6 People Charged For Plotting To Kidnap Michigan Governor)

Philipe Nathan Walton was abducted from his farm at 1:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, said Ibrahim Abba Lele, an official in the town of Birni-N’Konni, according to the Associated Press.

A US citizen has been abducted in Niger, the US State Department confirmed in a statement Tuesday. A State Department spokesman told CNN it’s aware of the incident and is providing assistance to the family. Local media outlets reported that the US citizen was a male missionary.

— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) October 27, 2020

Abdourahamane Moussa, the governor of the region where Walton was abducted, said that six men on motorbikes rode up to Walton’s property in the village of Massalata in southern Niger armed with AK47s.

The kidnappers called Walton’s father, who lives about half a mile away from the farm, and demanded a ransom, Abba Lele said according to the Associated Press.

The governor told several local and Frech media outlets that the men headed towards the border of Nigeria after kidnapping Walton, CNN reported.