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Woman kidnapped by Colombian rebels e-mails family
Sunday January 26, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Three Americans captured by Colombian
rebels were forced to march for hours, but otherwise were treated
well during their 10 days of captivity, one of the trio has told
friends and family.
Megan Smaker, 22, called her family Friday and told them of the
conditions during her captivity, said family friend Kristin Tooker.
Smaker, of Brentwood, Calif., and her two colleagues were
released Thursday and debriefed Saturday at the U.S. Embassy in
Bogota, Colombia.
The former captive provided more details of the ordeal in an
email to friends and family.
``I am back from the Gap alive and well, minus a black eye and
some nasty insect bites,'' Smaker wrote. The ``Gap'' apparently
refers to the Darien Gap, a jungle on the Colombian border with
Panama.
The black eye came when Smaker was accidentally hit in the face
by the butt of an AK-47, said Tooker, who has been staying with
Smaker's family.
Smaker, a seasonal firefighter with the state of California,
left in November to visit Central America and sent lengthy e-mails
to her friends and family detailing her adventures until she was
caught in an ambush.
Tooker said Smaker was still unsure when she would return to the
United States.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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