On September 3, 1901, Yane's Chetniks Sandanski and Hristo Chernopeev kidnap the Protestant missionary Miss Ellen Stone and the pregnant Katerina Tsilka for a ransom of 100,000 US dollars.
Ellen Stone was born in Roxbury, USA, on July 24, 1846. She arrived in Bulgaria in 1878 to work at the American girls' school in Samokov. Later he moved to Plovdiv to teach hygiene, reading and Protestantism to the women in the homes. In 1898, she was sent to Thessaloniki by the American Board of Foreign Missions to evangelize women.
In the summer of 1901, Miss Stone went to Bansko to conduct a short training course for Bulgarian female teachers for the early Protestant schools and for the women of the Bible Society together with her assistant, the Bulgarian Katerina Tsilka.
At that time, one of the main problems facing the Navy was the lack of armaments. That is why Gotse Delchev made two unsuccessful attempts to kidnap rich Turks and Greeks. Later, a plan was developed to kidnap Ivan Evstatiev Geshov's son, Nikola, who also went missing.
The financial crisis was the main problem discussed at the meeting of the leadership of the Military Academy in Kyustendil in the summer of 1901, which was attended by Delchev, Sandanski and Chernopeev. At this meeting, Delchev stated that petty robberies only damage the reputation of the organization and do not help to solve the financial problem. Sandanski proposed the kidnapping of Prince Ferdinand I during his visit to the Rila Monastery, but this radical plan was opposed by Delchev, who believed that the kidnapping should take place on Ottoman territory. Delchev also suggests that instead the voivodes should hold fundraising campaigns within the borders of Bulgaria. In this way, a dilemma arises before the leadership and the voivodes, since it is the help from Bulgaria that is unacceptable, petty robberies are undesirable, and large actions are dangerous for the organization and for the liberation cause, but still the financial situation requires urgent action.
Chernopeev and Sandanski discuss kidnapping a rich Turk near Simitli, but the plan fails. In 1901, around Petrovday, Yane Sandanski, Hristo Chernopeev and Sava Mihailov prepared a plan to kidnap Süleyman Bey, the son of a pasha from Gornojumai, but due to Süleyman Bey's illness, this operation also failed. Then Sandanski turned to the idea of abducting a Protestant missionary from Bansko, with the first target being the head of the mission in Thessaloniki - Doctor John House.
Yane Sandanski, Hristo Chernopeev and Krastyo Asenov do not expect the action to be complicated and its duration of 6 months surprises them. The main problem is keeping the hostages in a safe place, which is Sandanski's duty. The action was threatened by the Ottoman raids in Pirin, as well as the actions of the Bulgarian forces in the border areas, which made it impossible to stay on Bulgarian territory. Because of all these dangers, the kidnappers have to be constantly on the move, but this becomes very difficult because of the kidnapped women - Miss Stone is 55 years old and Katerina Tsilka is five months pregnant at the time of the abduction.
Jane Sandanski decides to look for an asylum where Tsilka can give birth. On the way, however, she got labor pains and the squad settled in Serbinovo. Sandanski calls two grandmothers to help with the birth. On December 22, Tsilka gave birth to a baby girl who was named Elena (after Miss Ellen Stone). Meanwhile, a Turkish soldier comes to Serbinovo, which forces the squad to leave the village on the third day after the birth. Since Tsilka is unable to walk or ride, he travels in a specially made chest pulled by a horse.
After lengthy negotiations in Sofia and Samokov, the ransom - 14,000 gold Turkish lira - was received on January 18, 1902 in Bansko. The captive women were released on February 2.
The action contributes to the promotion of VMORO far beyond the borders of the Ottoman Empire, which is helped by Miss Stone herself with her talks in the United States, where she returned after her release.
Ellen Stone died on December 13, 1927 in Chelsea, USA.