Tahiti Missionary Thrown Off a Three-Story Building onto Concrete: No Broken Bones

[Pyreaux]

https://www.ldsdaily.com/world/missionary-survives-three-story-fall-after-attack-in-tahiti/

https://www.moronichannel.org/newsroom/christian-missionary-surviving-three-story-fall-in-tahiti-flown-home-for-recovery/

Attempted Murder of a Missionary

November 17, 2025, in Faa'a, Tahiti, is a high-profile case. The story of Elder Wesley Vgardson in Tahiti. For those who haven’t heard, he was attacked at 1:00 a.m. after investigating breaking glass, they hit him with a rock, and literally threw him off a three-story balcony, falling roughly 30 feet onto concrete. The fact that he survived with no broken bones is being hailed as a miracle, and rightfully so. But it opened up a conversation about the safety of our Elders and Sisters. Many returned missionaries can testify to being robbed at gunpoint or threatened with weapons is nearly an alarmingly common rite of passage in certain missions.

Motive?

While local police are still investigating the motive, whether it was some sort of drug-fueled crime and robbery, the intruder did not simply try to rob the apartment; they waited for the missionary to open the door, immediately incapacitated him, and then threw him over the railing and fled. Valgardson’s companion, who was inside, was not physically harmed, suggesting the attacker may have fled right after the primary assault.

Local Tahitian News (Polynésie La 1ère)

Local reports in French Polynesia have focused on the "brutality" and "senselessness" of the attack. Commenters in Tahiti have specifically pointed to a spiritual dimension, with one resident writing, "We will be hated because we do good."

Edited January 25 by Pyreaux

[The Nehor]

Your sources don’t back up some of what you wrote. Was this AI?

I question the “miracle” bit. That is a description given by his dad and I can definitely see the relief that his son survived feeling like a miracle. He fell three stories but hit an awning on the way done which potentially slowed the fall and made the final impact less severe. He still has a severe concussion and a lacerated foot and ongoing persistent back pain. Some sources are playing up it is miraculous that no bones were broken but I think I would rather have a few broken bones than potentially ongoing back problems. I hope the kid recovers completely.

Also the anti LDS motive with the paper around the rock and the calculated plan to harm the missionary aren’t supported by the source articles. Do those come from other sources? This is one reason I am concerned that this is AI generated.

There are other potential motives for an attack. There is strong anti-imperialist sentiment in Tahiti that leads to distrust and/or hatred of American and Europeans and Mormon missionaries are a relatively easy target for this motive.

And yeah, being held at gunpoint or robbed is not uncommon. At least it happened quite a bit when I was out and I was in England. Had a shotgun pointed at me once. Got threatened with death a few times. Had a slingshot shoot a rock at high speed that missed me and my companion’s heads by a few inches (it went between us) and shattered a bus stop glass thingamajig enclosure. I don’t know if they actually use glass for those. It was transparent but not sure of the material really. Also got to go to court for my companion to testify against a guy that robbed him at knife point. He later ran into the thief in the town center and ended up punching the thief out and calling over a cop afterwards. The guy pled out at the last minute so we sadly didn’t get to go into the courtroom. I kind of wanted to see the British court system in action a little bit out of curiosity. We also had several months where we had to be in before nightfall due to perceived danger in areas with a heavy Muslim presence. This was right after Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach which launched US attacks on alleged terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. There was concern about people targeting anything American in response. We were also told to avoid McDonald’s and other businesses that were prominently associated with the US. Nothing came of it. This lasted into winter which in England which meant a fair amount of time in which “night” fell around 4:00 in the afternoon. We played a lot of Risk and Monopoly that winter. I also got surprise attacked once by a guy. Might have been a skinhead. 90% sure he was on some kind of drugs. Took three punches if I remember correctly. Cut my lip bad on my teeth. Not my finest hour. My companion ran after the first punch. Companionship unity didn’t flourish from this experience. Once had a drunk guy who claimed to be part of the IRA threaten me. Pretty sure he was lying about being part of the IRA but maybe not.

I have some reservations about an obsession with safety for missionaries. While obviously deliberately putting missionaries in danger is bad missions have always been somewhat dangerous. It is just part of the experience. I didn’t enjoy my mission in the aggregate but I am appreciative of some of the danger I faced. Taught me a bit about the world.

[Pyreaux]

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

the anti LDS motive with the paper around the rock and the calculated plan to harm the missionary aren’t supported by the source articles. Do those come from other sources? This is one reason I am concerned that this is AI generated.

I wrote all of it, but from assorted sources, and poor sources. That paper detail is floating around social media circles and some creators, it looks like it came from the exmormon reddit. It was portrayed to me (though not stated by police) as a local report, but its hearsay. So, I've removed it from the OP.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1p8dp1g/lds_missionary_attacked_in_tahiti_and_thrown_over/

Edited January 25 by Pyreaux

[Calm]

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

Taught me a bit about the world.

It is not a bad thing to experience some of the bad that others in the world do. It can motivate us to care and try and change things for the better.

Not saying the Church shouldn’t reasonably care for those under its stewardship, but missionaries are not the only ones who are.

When my son went out in 2001, it was said to be safer for young men to be on a mission than at home generally speaking, but I wonder if that stat applied to LDS youth who were less likely to drive drunk or be involved with drugs.

[Tacenda]

14 minutes ago, Calm said:

It is not a bad thing to experience some of the bad that others in the world do. It can motivate us to care and try and change things for the better.

Not saying the Church shouldn’t reasonably care for those under its stewardship, but missionaries are not the only ones who are.

When my son went out in 2001, it was said to be safer for young men to be on a mission than at home generally speaking, but I wonder if that stat applied to LDS youth who were less likely to drive drunk or be involved with drugs.

My son went to Oakland California, luckily not too much happened besides being hit by a car, chased by a pitbull, and even mistaken for drug dealers or ? by a swat team. And hit by a missionary companion with anger issues. 

The things missionaries go through are scary, but hopefully the good things over ride that.

[Devobah]

20 hours ago, Tacenda said:

My son went to Oakland California, luckily not too much happened besides being hit by a car, chased by a pitbull, and even mistaken for drug dealers or ? by a swat team.

Ah Oakland. How I love you. 

[blackstrap]

Served in Central America in the late 1960's during the rebellions. We shrugged of the occasional body in the streets and the machine gun toting helicopters circling overhead.. Our major concern was coping with  " Gambu " , otherwise known as the Aztec Two-Step.🤢