The couple has operated tours for more than 30 years and has traveled for many years in Guatemala. Over the years, Book of Mormon tour groups have experienced only "little" problems, she said, citing an occasion when a woman's purse was stolen.

The eight-day Sacred Sites Land of Nephi Tour, of which Richards was a participant, began in Guatemala City on Jan. 2 and traveled through various parts of the country, including the Maya ruins of Tikal, Antigua and Lake Atitlan, according to a trip itinerary posted on the tour Web site, www.ldstours.com.

On Wednesday, the group was slated to visit Almolonga and then travel to the Mexican city of Tapachula. The tour bus had left the mountain city of Quetzaltenango and was headed for the Mexican border when it was forced off the road near Colomba, 125 miles west of Guatemala City, by a pickup truck carrying the gunmen, who were armed with automatic weapons, according to the AP.

The gunmen forced the tour bus off the road and climbed aboard. They remained at large late Wednesday night.<

"They stole everything," David Allen said. "They stole money, I think luggage, everything except for credit cards and passports."

Richards was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in the town of Retalhuleu, but he died en route. The remaining tourists are at a stake center in a nearby town and local church members are taking care of them, Allen said.

"We've heard from other people (on the tour). We haven't heard from Brett's family," David Allen said.

President Maldonado said the tourists did not resist the demands of the bandits. "Nobody put up a fight," he said. The leader of the group gave the bandits "everything he had," President Maldonado said.

The leader of the tour group was struck in the face but was not seriously injured, President Maldonado said.

President Maldonado said the police interviewed the surviving tourists, who were spending the night in Retalhuleu. A few of the tourists were taken to President Maldonado's home, while others were taken to the house of a local LDS bishop where they phoned relatives in the United States before going to a local hotel.

The group was going to try to leave Central America today or Friday. They were originally scheduled to return Saturday. Meanwhile, Richards' body was expected to be transported to Guatemala City "as soon as possible," President Maldonado said.

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Contributing: Jennifer Dobner, Jason Swensen.

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com