Authorities have recovered the remains of two U.S. contractors who were kidnapped in Iraq more than a year ago, the FBI said Monday.
The men were among six Western contractors kidnapped in separate incidents. Their disappearance received new attention earlier this month when the severed fingers of several men were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq.
The FBI identified the contractors Monday as Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo. Withrow worked for JPI Worldwide when he was kidnapped in January 2007. Young worked for Crescent Security Group when he was kidnapped in November 2006.
The FBI said it had notified the families of the two men.
Withrow's mother, Barbara Alexander, said an FBI agent delivered news of her son's death Sunday night.
"You just can't really be prepared for any news like that, especially when you had hope that your son is alive," Alexander said by phone from her home in Afton, Texas. "I know he's safe from all harm now. We're bringing him home. That was what our main concern was. And that they're not going to hurt him anymore."
Alexander read from what she said was the final entry in a notebook in which she addressed her son directly.
"I know God has taken you home. I'm just someone that's taken care of you," Alexander said. "It's hard to believe that you're gone. But you're in a more peaceful place than here. I'll see you when I can. Wait for me at the gates of heaven."
Young's mother, Sharon DeBrabander, said Monday that she had heard the reports but then said her family had been told by the FBI not to comment. She said she may be able to respond in a day or two.
In a brief statement, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the kidnapping was under investigation. The statement offered no details about the other missing men.
The other men still missing are: Paul Reuben, of Minneapolis; Jonathon Cote, of Getzville, N.Y.; Joshua Munns, of Redding, Calif.; and Bert Nussbaumer, of Vienna, Austria. A finger from each was received by the military recently. Young was abducted with those men but none of his fingers was sent to the U.S. military.
Cote's father, Francis Cote, said he had spoken to the families of Withrow and Young.
"We feel very sad that this is how it turned out. We wish it turned out a better way," he said from his home in Getzville, near Buffalo, N.Y.
He said he was holding out hope that his son was still alive but the recent discovery had dampened those hopes.
"Let me say this, I'm not as optimistic as I was in the past," he said.
Reuben's wife, Keri, told Minneapolis paper the Star Tribune that she has endured a wrenching 16 months since her husband and four others contractors were reported captured by insurgents when a convoy they were escorting was hijacked at a fake checkpoint in southern Iraq in November 2006.
"Every time the phone rings and I see it's the State Department or the FBI, my heart drops," Johnson-Reuben said. "It just drops."
FBI identifies remains of 2 US contractors kidnapped in Iraq
The remains are those of Paul Johnson-Reuben of Buffalo, Minn., and Joshua Munns of Redding, Calif. The FBI is awaiting test results on the remains of a third body.
By MATT APUZZO , Associated Press Last update: March 27, 2008 - 7:40 AM
WASHINGTON - Authorities identified the remains of two more U.S. contractors kidnapped in Iraq and are awaiting forensic testing on remains of a third body, the FBI said Thursday. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko identified the two men as Paul Johnson-Reuben of Minneapolis and Joshua Munns of Redding, Calif. They were among six Western contractors kidnapped in Iraq more than a year ago. The case received attention earlier this month when the severed fingers of five of the men were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq. Several relatives had taken the discovery of the fingers as a hopeful sign but hopes dimmed Monday when the FBI said the remains of Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo., had been identified. The other men still missing are Jonathon Cote, of Getzville, N.Y. and Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria. Cote's family said on its blog Wednesday night that the body awaiting identification is not Jonathon's. "The third body has not been identified yet but officials have ruled out that it is NOT Jonathon Cote," the posting said. "We really feel the need to ask for continued prayers. Please remember to pray for Jon's safety and the loss of the other hostages and their families." Munns' mother had said Tuesday that she lost hope that her son would be found alive after hearing that the remains of Withrow and Young had been identified. "I think at this point, because they already killed the others, (he) is going to be probably dead as well, that's just a mom's intuition," said Jackie Stewart, a resident of Ridgefield, Wash. Johnson-Reuben and Munns were guards for Crescent Security Group when men in Iraqi police uniforms ambushed their convoy near the Kuwaiti border on Nov. 16, 2006.
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