13 Americans Still Missing

Brief mention today of Kirk von Ackermann in two articles from the Associated Press on Americans missing in Iraq.

13 Americans still listed as missing
AP, June 20, 2006

American military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Tuesday that there were still 13 Americans missing in Iraq — two soldiers and 11 civilians.

He identified the two soldiers as Sgt. Matt Maupin, missing since April 2004, and Capt. Michael Speicher, a Navy pilot missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

"There are also 11 American citizens that today are still listed as missing in action," he said without identifying them. "Either DOD contractors, civilian contractors or others, but American citizens that have been reported as missing over the last three years."

An Associated Press tally shows the following five U.S. civilians still missing:

• Kirk von Ackermann, 37: Contractor from Moss Beach, Calif., disappeared Oct. 9, 2003, while driving alone between Tikrit and Kirkuk; kidnapping suspected.

• Timothy Bell, 44: Contractor for Halliburton subsidiary KBR, of Mobile, Ala., disappeared April 9, 2004, after a fuel convoy attack.

• Aban Elias, 41: Iraqi-American engineer from Denver, was seized by the Islamic Rage Brigade on May 3, 2004.

• Sadeq Mohammed Sadeq: Lebanese-American who formerly worked for Virginia-based contractor SkyLink USA, was kidnapped from his home in Baghdad on Nov. 2, 2004.

• Jeffrey Ake, 47: Contract worker from LaPorte, Ind., was abducted April 11, 2005, while working at a water treatment plant near Baghdad.

A second article, also from the AP, includes similar information.

American soldiers and civilians kidnapped or missing in Iraq
AP, June 21, 2006