Gary Brooks Faulkner-The hunter of Osama caught in Pakistan

An American construction worker has been detained in the mountains of Pakistan after authorities there found him carrying a sword, pistol and night-vision goggles on a solo mission to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden.

Catching bin Laden was Gary Brooks Faulkner's "passion," his brother said, noting that the 50-year-old has been to Pakistan at least six times, learned some of the local language and even grew a long beard to blend in.

Relatives and acquaintances said Faulkner is a devout, good-humoured Christian who requires dialysis and did time in prison years ago.

Faulkner arrived on June 3 in the town of Bumburate and stayed in a hotel there.

The Greeley, Colorado, man was assigned a police guard, as is common for foreigners visiting remote parts of Pakistan.

When he checked out without informing police, officers began looking for him, according to the top police officer in the Chitral region, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan.

Faulkner was found late Sunday in a forest.

"We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden," Khan said.

But when officers seized the weapons and night-vision equipment, "our suspicion grew."

He said the American was trying to cross into the nearby Afghan region of Nuristan.

Chitral and Nuristan are among several rumoured hiding places for bin Laden along the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment generally deny the possibility that bin Laden is hiding somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghan border, as Western intelligence agencies believe.

On Tuesday, Faulkner was being questioned by intelligence officials in Peshawar, Pakistan's main northwestern city.

He has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

His brother, Scott Faulkner, dropped him off at Denver's airport May 30, and the two discussed the possibility Faulkner would not return alive from his search of bin Laden.

But Scott Faulkner insisted his brother was on a rational mission, saying he is not mad, adding that Gary earns money for his missions.


Faulkner's sister, Deanna M. Faulkner of Grand Junction, Colo., said her brother suffers from kidney disease that has left him with only 9 percent kidney function.

But she told The Associated Press that she did not think his illness was his motivation to go to Pakistan.
Khan said Faulkner told investigators he was angry after the Sept. 11 attacks.


US embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said the embassy had received notification from Pakistani officials that an American citizen had been arrested.

He said embassy officials were trying to meet the man and confirm his identity.