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June 17, 2007

Jimenez ID found, encouraging family

Crystal Bozek and Yadira Betances

LAWRENCE, Mass. — The discovery of Spc. Alex Jimenez’ identification card in a deserted al-Qaida safe house north of Baghdad raised new hope for the family of the Lawrence soldier captured by militants.

“The fact that they found his items makes me think that maybe they are moving them around,” Jimenez’ mother, Maria del Rosario Duran, said in a phone interview from her home in Queens, N.Y. “I had a sense of relief when they told me.”

Jimenez’ father, Ramon “Andy” Jimenez, also took comfort from the find.

“This shows they are searching for him,” he said yesterday at his Albion Street home. “Maybe they can pick up a clue from here. I know no matter what, they will find him.”

The ID cards of Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty of Waterford, Mich., were found inside a house near Samarra, more than 75 miles north of where the two soldiers were captured last month. Paratroopers approaching the building came under fire from nearby trees and two were wounded before air support intervened, a U.S. military statement said.

It was the first piece of news about Jimenez since June 3, when a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida claimed in a videotape posted on the Internet that Jimenez, Fouty and a third captured soldier had been killed.

Besides the ID cards, soldiers found video production equipment, computers and weapons in the safe house.

The discovery was made June 9 but not announced until yesterday, although the Army delivered the news to both of Jimenez’ parents on Thursday.

Andy Jimenez said Army officials are in constant touch with the family.

“This month alone, they have called 20 times,” he said. “They call to tell us everything is the same or if they have any new information.”

Whenever his cell phone rings, he said, “my heart skips a beat until they tell me whatever news they have.”

Duran said she appreciates the calls, though she, too, is a “nervous wreck” when the phone rings.

Jimenez, 25, and Fouty, 19, were snatched in a May 12 raid on their 10th Mountain Division unit.

Also captured was Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif. His body was found floating in the Euphrates River on May 23. Four other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator were killed in the May 12 ambush.

The military ID cards found in the safe house were apparently those shown in the video released by the Islamic State of Iraq, claiming that the missing soldiers were killed and buried but offering no proof they were dead.

Like Jimenez’ parents, Fouty’s stepfather found hope in the latest news.

“I take it as they keep moving him, and that he’s alive,” Gordon Dibler Jr. said. “I was happy that they found something tangible. I’m going to keep hoping.”

Lawrence Veterans Director Francisco Urena said he was happy to hear the Army was doing what it promised: going forward with a full-scale search for the men.

“If they found the cards in a safe house, maybe they have more insight, some key witnesses who saw what was going on,” Urena said. “I’ve never lost hope. As far as we’re concerned the two soldiers are alive until proven otherwise.”

While the family continues to wait and pray that Alex is found alive, normal routines have slowly trickled back into their lives.

Duran went back to work as a home health aide Thursday. She had taken a leave of absence after hearing of her son’s disappearance.

Andy Jimenez returned to Lawrence last week and to his job as a contractor after keeping vigil with Duran and other family in New York since the news first broke. Yesterday afternoon, Jimenez was helping repair a friend’s lawn mower.

“We just keep hope with him,” his close friend and neighbor Wendy Luzon said. “We wait for that little bit of news. Like Andy wants, the only thing we can do is to keep praying.”

But nothing can keep either of them from thinking of Alex.

Andy Jimenez ends every telephone conversation with friends and family members in tears. He wakes up in the middle of the night with his son on his mind. One day last week, he sat down to eat beef steak, white rice and beans and thought of him.

“Because he likes to eat a lot,” he said.

Meanwhile, Duran said she will continue praying as she has done since her son enlisted.

“We’ll continue to have the same faith in God so he can give us strength,” she said. “I feel like I’m on the road to Calvary.”

Jimenez said he’s found comfort in the support shown by Lawrence residents, who crowded into St. Mary of the Immaculate Church for a Mass and vigil last Saturday.

Last Tuesday, he drove by some of Lawrence’s schools sporting yellow ribbons with Alex’s name, like the ribbon that adorns his front door.

“That really touched me because it makes me feel that I’m not alone,” Jimenez said. “But it’s also sad because of what is happening.”



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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