The family of an industry heir brutally murdered in the Congo in 1960 have revealed new details of his death . Mark Higgins , 20 , from Worcester , Massachusetts , was on his way to a kibbutz in Israel after working for missionary Albert Schweitzer in a jungle village in Gabon when he was shot by soldiers and hacked by machetes . The troops mistakenly believed he was a Belgian spy when they raided a house he was staying in . More than 50 years after his grisly death , his cousin Clarinda has travelled to Africa to unearth more information about his slaying . Brutal : Mark Higgins , 20 , from Worcester , Massachusetts , was on his way to a kibbutz in Israel in 1960 after working for missionary Albert Schweitzer in a jungle village in Gabon when he was hacked to death by Congolese soldiers . His cousin Clarinda ( right ) returned to Gabon to retrace his footsteps . Investigation : The troops responsible for his murder mistakenly believed he was a Belgian spy when they raided a house he was staying in the town of Kasongo . She has now released a book titled Against the Current : How Albert Schweitzer Inspired a Young Man 's Journey which reveals the evidence she has discovered . Mr Higgins was the son of Worcester industrialist Carter Higgins and grandson of Higgins Armory Museum founder John Woodman Higgins . He was destined to study at Yale University and move on to a senior position at his father 's company , Worcester Pressed Steel . But he shunned the choices and instead traveled to Africa in 1959 at the age of 18 . There he started work alongside the German-French philosopher at the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné , Gabon . The complex set in a humid jungle included a leper village . After 13 months with Dr. Schweitzer , Mark Higgins was off on a another journey in June 1960 , with the idea of backpacking up through Africa to a kibbutz in Israel . Meeting locals : She revisited the hospital where he used to work in a bid to unearth more information about his grisly death . Concern : Mr Higgins boarded a steamboat travelling north in 1960 , but wrote a letter home on board saying : 'Something is incredibly wrong ' when he realized it was going in the wrong direction . On June 30 , 1960 , the République du Congo achieved independence from Belgium . The country had formerly been called Belgian Congo . The situation led to a huge amount of violence and tension around the country . The gendarmerie and military force who mutinied against their former rulers began turnijng on Belgian citizens . Mr Higgins boarded a steamboat travelling north in 1960 , but wrote a letter home on board saying : 'Something is incredibly wrong . ' All the other vessels were going down the Kasai River , but his was heading inland instead . On July 25 , 1960 , Higgins was staying with a family in the town of Kasongo when armed mutineers looking for Belgians broke in . 'Mark raised his hands ( and said ) , ' I 'm American not Belgian , ' ' Clarinda Higgins told the Worcester Telegram and Gazette . 'They shot him and macheted him . ' Memories : During her visit she met a 90-year-old man called Joseph ( left ) who still remembered Mark after more than half a century . Her husband Bill stands at the spot where Mark came ashore to begin work in 1959 . Lambros Passialis , a Greek-African businessman living in the Democratic Republic of Congo who had been in touch with Mr Higgins , got in touch with the American consulate . In 2014 Clarinda Higgins returned to Gabon with her husband and two grown children to retrace Mark 's footsteps . While there she met 90-year-old , Joseph , who had been there since at least the 1960s . Clarinda Higgins showed him a photograph of her cousin . After a pause , he said 'Oh , that 's Mark . ' 'It was a mind-blowing experience to be at Schweitzer 's , ' Clarinda told the paper . 'It 's still fully operating . Still a real jungle clinic . The dining room is still the same dining room . ' She also explained part of the reason why she ventured to Africa . Retracing steps : She walks around the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné , Gabon , where Mark used to work . ' I adored him , ' Mrs Higgins said . 'There was always this admiration . I remember three letters he wrote me . One was about working in the leper colony , ' she added . In another letter , he told her ' ' I 've learned something new , and it 's the blessing to give help . ' She said : 'He had found meaning in life . I get goose bumps when I read that letter . He had found meaning somehow . It was about helping and service . ' Clarinda Higgins holds a bachelor 's degree in Eastern Studies from Smith College and a master 's degree in education . She taught elementary school for 11 years and has worked as an environmental educator since 1986 . She was recognized with the Gold Award by the National Science Teachers Association . Her husband and co-author William G. Armstrong Jr is a former Associated Press writer and public relations executive in New York . Purchase a copy of Against the Current here . Revelations : Clarinda has now released a book titled Against the Current : How Albert Schweitzer Inspired a Young Man 's Journey which reveals the evidence she has discovered .
Mark Higgins was on his way to Israel from Gabon when he was killed . The attack came as the Israeli government is trying to rebuild relations with its Arab neighbors. He said he was American , but troops still shot him and cut him up . His cousin Clarinda has released a book about his life and grisly death .