the church says that reverend phyllis sorter was taken from the church's compound by several nigerian men. the family is still waiting to hear from the kidnappers about any demands. >>> for the second night in a row, unidentified drones were spotted over france. officials don't know the pilot's intentions, good or bad. but want to talk with them. yesterday, drones were spotted flying over the presidential palace, the u.s. embassy, and near the eiffel tower. drone spottings in france go back several months now. people first started reporting seeing the tiny aircraft in november and december. >> something janet yellen said yesterday is not sitting well with investors. for more, we turn to landon dowdy live at cnbc's d.c. bureau this morning. good morning, landon. >> hey, laura, good morning to you. futures are slightly lower after the markets rose tuesday with the dow closing at a new record high. investors reacting to comments from janet yellen who told us in a panel the fed is likely ready to raise interest rates sometime this year, although she didn't say when. yellen says the job ma

. >> reporter: american missionary phyllis sorter was based in koge state. was kidnapped from a school where her office is based and according to the police commissioner five men carried out the kidnapping scaling the walls. two men were wearing masks and as they took her away firing weapons into the air, before disappearing into the mountains. the police commissioner at this stage saying they believe this was the work of a criminal gang. it does appear that this gang did put some planning into the kidnapping attempt. there has been a ransom demand that is upwards of $300,000. the state where this kidnapping took place, not an area where boko haram is currently known to operate. the concern is that if that ransom is not paid she could find herself being passed on to the highest bidder. arwa damon, cnn. >>> in southern california the driver of a truck involved in a crash with a commuter train has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run. >> no one died but at least 30 people were hurt. officials believe the truck driver mistook the train tracks for th

seattle. ♪ >> reporter: a few dozen people are counting on the power of prayer to save reverend phyllis sorter>> this is actually my 10th year. >> reporter: the veteran free end in different missionary from seattle seen in this video of kidnapped near the academy where she taught in nigeria. >> surreal. i -- i can't believe this. like all people. and talk to them and they just come out with the joke. it's like no, this really happened. >> reporter: sorter's distraught stepson richard of among those prayering. >> i know that nothing that can happen to me in my future will ever defeat me with god by my side. >> reporter: she was grabbed by several people this morning. the state department and fbi are working to find and rescue her. >> they're there doing good for other people and this happens. >> reporter: in one of her latest updates, there was no sign of distress. she seemed upbeat writing "just a little note share the joy with you regarding the long-awaited opening of our brand new international childcare ministry school in enugu." >> she spoke such a message of love and strength in the name

reverend phyllis sorter of seattle runs hope academy.n southwestern nigeria in an area not particularly known for any particular militant activity. leading investigators to believe this is likely the work of a criminal gang as opposed to the work of terrorists. the u.s. state department is now working with the fbi to try and find reverend sorter. let's turn to cnn international reporter arwa damon. arwa, do police know if sorter was specifically targeted in this raid? >> reporter: they haven't put that out definitively at this stage but that most certainly does seem to be the case, jake. this was the product of some sort of criminal gang one quite capable of carrying out a kidnapping that seems to have been preplanned to a certain degree. there were five men who were involved, two of them according to the police commissioner wearing masks. and, as they whisked her away they were firing their weapons into the air, disappearing into the nearby mountains. now there is that investigation under way in hopes of trying to locate her at this sta

she's been identified as the reverend phyllis sorter of the free methodist church usa. the church posted a photograph and statement on its website, asking for prayers. the statement reads in part reverend sorter was abducted from a missionary compound in central nigeria by several people. the church says the state department and fbi are working with local officials to rescue her. central nigeria has had low level activity by militants linked to the insurgent group boko haram. we don't know who is responsible for her kidnapping. again, we are following the latest developments as confirmed to nbc news that a missionary from this organization kidnapped on monday and as we understand officials are doing everything they can to get her back. we know very little about the people responsible for the abduction. her church posted this photograph online the free methodist world missions. we will continue to follow this breaking development. her stepson released a statement to king 5 regarding her, that she believes in god, she's doing god's work. he said the news is surreal, just

the church says that reverend phyllis sorter was taken from the church's compound by several nigerian men. the family is still waiting to hear from the kidnappers about demands. >>> the men accused of kidnapping and killing sierra lamar return to court. >>> plus, the man who killed navy seal chris kyle and kyle's friend finds out his fate. what the jury decided late last night. >>> and a live look outside right now. not too much traffic flow on that bridge. we'll be back with 15 minutes of nonstop news, traffic, and weather right after this break. >>> you're watching "today in the bay." >> good wednesday morning to you. it is 5:42. a verdict in the american sniper trial. a jury has ruled eddie ray routh will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. tracie potts joins us live from washington this morning. routh's lawyers already promising to appeal. >> well, they certainly could. that verdict, which took less than three hours for the jury, found him guilty for the 2013 deaths of chris kyle and chad littlefield. and immediately after that, the judge pronou

> and authorities in nigeria now say the kidnappers of an american missionary ref recommended phyllis sorter asking for $300,000 for her return. neither her family or the church have that money. the reverend was abducted monday from the church's missionary compound in central nigeria. authorities say five masked gunmen jumped walls of the compound, fired shots in the air. a friend says the reverend served as a missionary in west africa more than a decade and actually appeared in a 2009 church video. >> i trust god and i thank god because god has once again proven himself to me and i know that it is nothing that can happen to me in my future will ever defeat me with god by my side. >> joining me the executive director of the nigerian american leadership council based in washington, d.c. thanks for joining us again. >> thank you, tamron. >> obviously we talked so much with you in the past about boko haram and savage acts of violence being carried out. at this point they have not been tied to the abduction and they do not have a lot of activity in this area where the reverend was taken. with th

masked gunmen abducted phyllis sorter and are demanding a ransom. is a purely criminal act. they have not identified the group responsible. sort certificate a missionary for the free methodist church. and runs an organization that educate children in the region. >>> four students at wesleyan university in connecticut have been arrest in connection with a rash of overdoses in the school. they're being held pending a bail hearing in early march. police say 11 people hospitalized over the weekend appear to have taken the drug molly. another name for ecstacy. this batch may have been laced with a dangerous mixture of designer drug chemicals. >>> stunning video of a truck driving off the upper deck of a highway in boston. police say the man behind the wheel now faces drunk driving charges, his license has been suspended. you can see the truck going over the guardrail. it smashed into a light pole and plunged from an elevated section of interstate 93 to the concrete below. amazingly the driver only suffered a broken nose. what's amazing is that he didn't

. >> let me ask you also about phyllis sorter she's an american who was serving as a missionary in nigeriaidnapped on monday in lagos, nigeria, we understand the kidnapping happened outside the area where boka horam is. so it is not seen as terror related by this definition of a terror group being involved. but they asked for the equivalent of $300,000 for her safe return. because this is not seen as terror-related or related to a terror group, and for some families or congregations, $300,000 might be doable should they be allowed to pay ransom to get this reverend back? >> i hope not. i think u.s. policy is correct. that there shouldn't be no ramsoms. otherwise you will have random ransoms everywhere and it will be chaotic. that doesn't mean you don't use special envoys the church other potential breakthroughs that might secure the release of this person. you know it's a private case. there have been cases where americans have paid through organizations some kind of kidnapping funds. that is a private decision. but my hope is that the families the organization they use the u.s. government