WHAT'S NEWS AT CIA

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06767372
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: July 25, 2019
• Case Number: F-2017-01475
• Publication Date: December 27, 1996

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November 27, 1996
Agency Officer Leslianne Shedd
Leslianne Shedd a
DO/AF operations officer
was killed on November 23
when her hijacked Ethiopian
Airlines plane crashed in the
Indian Ocean near the
Comoros Islands. Flight 961
was departing Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, when several Ethio-
pian hijackers boarded the
plane and demanded that it be
flown to Australia. The hijack-
ers ignored the pilot's claim
that the plane needed to refuel.
While the pilot was attempting
to make an emergency landing
at a local airfield, the plane ran
out of fuel and crashed.
.(S) Shedd joined the Agency
in February 1991. Following
completion of the Career
Trainin Pro ram, she served
She and several
riends were eaded for a short
vacation in Kenya when the
hijacking occurred.
Killed In Hijacking
Leslianne Shedd
,(8) DDO Dave Cohen told
colleagues, "She did a great job
as a junior officer. I know you
all join me in expressing your
deepest sympathies to
Leslianne's (continued on p. 4)
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Shedd
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family and her colleagues in
Africa Division.Lhavespoken
her family i
where the funeral
will be held next Monday.
Several of us, including myself
and C/AF
will meet privately with the
family. Losing Leslianne is
another reminder of the con-
stant risks the members of the
Clandestine Service live with
as they pursue our mission. I
will miss her a great deal
because she was so much a
part of our future."
Her many friends in the
Agency were stricken by the
� A DO colleague said, "Each
of you who knew her will
remember her fondly. She
was a dedicated young
officer with a promising
career. Her vibrant spirit
touched many of us." The
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DDO's message to the
Directorate of Operations
reflected these sentiments.
� A CT classmate remembered
her "unfailingly positive
attitude. She never com-
plained, and always had a
smile on her face. She was
�
A DI officer told What's
News, "I used to think how
having been here all these
years meant I knew so many
people. However, the
disadvantage of age is that
you are more likely to know
the victims of accident or
hostile action. I didn't know
Leslianne, but her birth date,
confirms
for me that our young,
promising officers are dying
out there in what remains a
dangerous world for Agency
employees."
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� Another DO colleague said
"words alone just cannot
express what we are feeling
about our loss."
"It makes me
proud to be in the organiza-
tion. Four of her colleagues
spoke/sang eloquently and
did a wonderful job. It truly
is amazing what an impact
she had on this community
As the DDO alluded to, if
this is the caliber of the next
generation, we're going to
be OK. It was an amazingly
uplifting ceremony to
attend."
(C) A memorial service is
tentatively scheduled to be
held in the Headquarters
Auditorium on Friday, De-
cember 6 at 10 a.m. (This is
SEEREIttv
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