Some time will likely pass before we know all the details, but Americans supportive of ongoing Haitian relief efforts are justified in feeling resentment, if not anger, at how Haiti’s government is treating 10 American Baptists caught trying to haul 33 children from the devastation and violence of their island nation to safety. Haitian authorities claim the group of missionaries was engaging in child-trafficking.

Many of us were shocked at CNN reports this week, including footage showing some of the Baptists with New Life Children’s Refuge being herded down a corridor to jail cells by a Haitian policeman toting a machine gun — as if these apparent do-gooders from the American Midwest were of the same caliber of thugs and looters this very Haitian police force is so utterly incapable of controlling in Port-au-Prince.

Some of us also saw the broadcasts of fellow parishioners back home in Idaho. They seemed no different from a multitude of other Americans now seeking to rescue the most vulnerable of Haiti’s earthquake victims — the children — who are hardly able to deal with the looting and violence.

Admittedly, widespread confusion in Haiti isn’t helping to clarify the situation. The detained Americans — two women are just 18 — say their only intention was to transport the children to an orphanage in the neighboring Dominican Republic, even though the group’s Web site reportedly stated they were in the adoption business.

Confounding the picture is the fact that some of the parents have offered conflicting stories of just why they entrusted the children — ranging in age from 2 months to 12 years — to the missionaries. Some say that they gave the Baptists permission to take their children to a place where they could get an education — a rarity in Haiti, where half of children get little or no education. “They didn’t kidnap my kid,” one Haitian mother told ABC News. “I gave them my daughter because she was going to have a better life.”

Sifting through various reports, it appears New Life Children’s Refuge had some of the paperwork for its mission but failed to inform authorities of the specifics. Which begs the question: How on earth would the Haitians know for sure when their government — what exists of it — operates out of tents and police stations, trying to grapple with chaos and death tallies as high as 200,000?

Considering the United States has committed some $100 million in relief and that U.S. military forces are the ones maintaining what order remains in the streets, Haitian authorities would be wise to stow all talk about these Baptists being “kidnappers” right along with their firearms and cell keys, and handle this group and others justly, presuming innocence until otherwise is proved.