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Nov 17, 2006 9:01 pm US/Central
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Twin Cities Man Among 5 Captured In Iraq
Australian Found Dead, 1 American Found Gravely Wounded
by Mary Tan
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
The mother of a Minnesota man captured by insurgents in Iraq said Friday that she hopes the men holding her son "remember their own mothers."
"I want them to think what it's like for a mother to want her son back," Johnnie Mae Reuben told The Associated Press. "I want my son back."
Paul Reuben, a former St. Louis Park police officer, was one of four American private security contractors who, along with an Austrian co-worker, were being held by what Iraqi security officials were calling a criminal gang in the country's Safwan region. Reports earlier Friday that two of the hostages had been released were later called incorrect.
Reuben, 39, was among a group from Kuwait-based
Crescent Security who were escorting a convoy that was hijacked. He left for Iraq two years ago, to take the high paying dangerous job, after serving in the St. Louis Park Police Department from 1994 to 2003.
"We love him tons and we just want him to be home and stay home which is the plan," said Jennifer Reuben, his sister-in-law.
Paul Reuben's twin brother Patrick, a police officer in Minneapolis, was first in the family to get word Thursday of the kidnapping. On Friday, Johnnie Mae Reuben and her daughter, Suzanne, were at Johnnie Mae's home in south Minneapolis waiting for further word.
"I really don't know what he did. I never asked him what he did out there," said Patrick Reuben, his twin brother and a Minneapolis Police Officer.
Johnnie Mae Reuben, a psychiatric nurse with Hennepin County, said her son was attracted to the work in Iraq because it paid very well, but that recently he was more concerned about what he saw as an increasingly dangerous situation in the country. He returned to the United States several times for visits, most recently in August for the 16th birthday of his twin daughters.
"He wanted to buy a house and see after his girls," Johnnie Mae Reuben said.
Suzanne Reuben said that her most recent contact with her brother was a few weeks ago, when they exchanged instant messages by computer. He told her he was ready to come home.
"This time was going to be his last time over there," Suzanne Reuben said. "He was eager to come home."
"He's a very caring person, he's nice to people," said Patrick, "a lots of times I'll wake up in the middle of the night because I'll be thinking about something funny he said."
Paul's colleagues at the St. Louis Park Police Department also describe him as a person with an engaging smile and easy going disposition.
"He had that classic teddy bear disposition that made people like and care about him," said St. Louis Park Police Chief John D. Luse. "People here were pretty upset to hear the news."
His family says all they can do is think positive.
"We're still hoping he makes it home safely this week," says Jennifer.
Joanne Moore, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said she couldn't provide any specific details on Reuben's situation, citing privacy and security concerns. She said the department had been in touch with family members of all the Americans taken. Reuben is the only one so far whose identity has been publicly revealed.
"We're doing everything possible to bring about their safe recovery," Moore said.
Johnnie Mae Reuben said Paul was hoping to be home by Nov. 24 -- the day after Thanksgiving, and his and Patrick's 40th birthday.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)