Family of American caught up in Congo failed coup says son was on vacation

The parents of a 21-year-old Utah man who was one of three Americans arrested after an ill-fated attack on the presidential palace in the Congo wait for answers about the fate of their son from their home in a Salt Lake City suburb.

Tyler Thompson, 21, traveled to Africa in early April with his former high school football teammate, Marcel Malanga, for what his family believed was an all-expenses-paid vacation funded by Marcel’s father, Christian Malanga.

Congolese officials say Christian Malanga, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, was killed in a shootout May 19 after leading a brazen attack on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.

…