US writer detained in Libyan custody

BALTIMORE (AP)

The Libyan government has acknowledged that a Baltimore writer who went missing in the early weeks of the conflict there is alive and in custody, a Maryland congressman said yesterday.

Libyan officials acknowledged that Matthew VanDyke was in custody during talks with Hungarian officials before Ramadan began last week, according to United States Rep C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger's office. Hungary maintained a diplomatic mission in Tripoli long after other Western nations left. For months, Libyan officials said they had no information about VanDyke's whereabouts.

"This is the first time Libyan authorities have acknowledged that they have detained Matthew VanDyke and they will now be held accountable for his welfare and whereabouts," Ruppersberger said in a statement. The US must continue to reach out to partners who are still operating in Libya to bring VanDyke and other imprisoned Americans home, he said.

"I'm certainly glad of the news, but I don't know what it means," Sharon VanDyke, the captive's mother, said Tuesday. She hopes the Libyan government's acknowledgement means that the US can actively pursue her son's release.

No comfort from report

Matthew VanDyke's girlfriend, Lauren Fischer, said the report was too iffy to give her much comfort.

"For me, that's excellent to hear," she said. "But at the same time, everything seems to be moving quite slowly."

VanDyke travelled to Libya this winter to write about the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi and disappeared in March. His travels throughout the Middle East and southeast Asia from 2007 to 2009 included a visit to Libya for six weeks in 2008. He planned to be at home for a year working on a book about his travels, but he found himself distracted by the events in the Middle East, his mother said.