U.S. SERVICE WOMAN MISSING

Air Force woman missing from Kyrgyzstan mall

"A U.S. Air Force officer is missing after a trip to a shopping mall in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, a U.S. military statement said Wednesday.

Maj. Jill Metzger, with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, was last seen shopping at the Zum Shopping Center with others from the Manas Air Base when she disappeared Tuesday, the statement said.

"Major Metzger was last seen wearing a green sweater and blue jeans," the statement said.
"She has blonde hair and blue eyes. She is in excellent athletic condition."

A task force made up of U.S. military personnel, U.S. Embassy personnel and local officials are trying to find her, the statement said.

"We will not rest until we find Maj. Metzger," said Col. Joel "Scott" Reese, the 376 AEW commander. "She is an extremely valuable member of our war-fighting team, and we are doing everything in our power to locate and return her to safety."

Footage from a mall store's security cameras showed Metzger spending only 10 minutes inside the store, Bishkek's police chief Moldomusa Kongantiyev told The Associated Press. She later made two calls from her cell phone to a local number and turned off her phone at 9 p.m., Kongantiyev said.

She had been expected to return to the United States in three days, Kongantiyev told AP.
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Air Force woman missing from Kyrgyzstan mall

Kyrgyzstan

Muslim 75%,
Russian Orthodox 20%,
other 5%