Chester Allen "Chet" Bitterman III (November 30, 1952 – March 1981)[1] was an American linguist and Christian missionary who was kidnapped and killed by revolutionaries of the 19th of April Movement (M-19) in Colombia in 1981.
Their time at Lomalinda was broken up by a six-month service trip in Bogotá where Bitterman and his wife assisted a more experienced translator couple.
However, by 1981, plans began to fall into place for Bitterman and his wife to attempt to reach the Carijona tribe in the Colombian jungle.
At 6:30 a.m. on January 19, 1981, seven M-19 guerrillas entered SIL's housing facility in Bogotá, where the Bittermans were staying at the time.
Finally, 48 days after his abduction, on March 7, 1981, Bitterman's body was found in a bus near Bogotá, having been shot in the chest.