Although a U.S. Baptist group said it was trying to rescue 33 "orphans" by taking them out of earthquake-ravaged Haiti, all the children have close family alive, The Associated Press has found.

A reporter's visit Feb. 20 to the Citron slum, where 13 of the children lived, led to their parents, all of whom said they turned their youngsters over to the missionary group voluntarily in hopes of getting them to safety.

Similar explanations were given by parents in the mountain town of Callabas, outside Port-au-Prince, on Feb. 3.

Their stories contradict the missionaries' leader, Laura Silsby, who said Jan. 31, the day after her arrest, that the children were either orphans or came from distant relatives.

Eight of the 10 missionaries were released Feb. 17 and flew home to the United States.

Silsby, 40, and her assistant, Charisa Coulter, 24, remain jailed on charges of kidnapping.