they bought a house in a leafy neighborhood of lynchburg, virginia and had kevin. and the immigrants' son became an all-american kid. he was 14 that summer of 2011. smart, studious, and looking forward to the start of high school in the fall. >> he's this normal american kid who likes pizza and hot dogs and burgers, hang out with his friends, play video games, ride on his skateboard. >> reporter: they lived frugally, saved their money. which is how eventually heiko could afford his used mercedes sports car and gerfa and kevin that vacation trip to the philippines. life was good. but now it was very bad indeed. >> when i first heard they were kidnapped, the first thing that came to my mind was oh, my gosh, it's abu sayyaf. >> reporter: abu sayyaf, a small but extremely violent militant group. over the years it claimed affiliation first with al qaeda, then isis, as it fought to establish an independent islamic state in the southern philippines. its bread and butter in its fight against the government? kidnap for ransom.