Air Force Confirms Major’s Account of ‘06 Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan
The Air Force has confirmed that a major who went missing in Kyrgyzstan six years ago was kidnapped, debunking an online smear campaign that claimed she went AWOL, the Air Force Times reported.
Maj. Jill Metzger disappeared from a department store near Manas Air Base in September 2006. When she surfaced three days later, she said she had been abducted from the store and later escaped from her captors.
Kyrgyz officials disputed her claim, and she became the subject of many Internet rumors, with bloggers claiming that she made up her story and that the Air Force was trying to sweep the incident under the rug.
Now, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations says they have completed their inquiry and found that the evidence supports Metzger’s account.
According to the Air Force Times, OSI investigators talked to hundreds of people, canvassed areas of Kyrgyzstan and conducted a forensic analysis of the evidence.
“By analysis of all of the available information, the OSI eliminated multiple alternate scenarios and concluded the information uncovered is consistent with Maj. Metzger’s account of the events,” Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Tracy Bunko told the newspaper.
Read more about the OSI investigation in the Air Force Times