Family friend: Man reported to have been kidnapped in Afghanistan is released

HARVEST, Ala. - An Alabama man who reported being kidnapped by a tribal warlord in Afghanistan has been released, a family friend said Friday. <br> <br> Karen Allen, who has been a spokeswoman for Clark Bowers&#39; family, said Bowers called the family and said he is now &#34;in the care of the FBI.&#34; She said it was not clear where he is but he is not in the United States. <br> <br> &#34;He has been roughed up a bit, but he will be fine,&#34; Allen said. <br> <br> She said she did not know if the $25,000 ransom that he said was demanded for his release had been paid or not. <br> <br> In Washington, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said he had no information on Bowers&#39; case or whether he really was in FBI hands. <br> <br> Bowers, a 37-year-old political consultant, was delivering medical supplies and other humanitarian aid by private plane when he and an Afghan interpreter were abducted earlier this month, his wife, Amanda Bowers, said earlier this week. <br> <br> She said she got a call from her husband Jan. 9, and he said he wanted her to start gathering money to secure his release. <br> <br> &#34;Clark reported he had been driven blindfolded for several hours,&#34; she said. <br> <br> She next heard from him Monday, when he called with details on how to deliver the ransom money. <br> <br> Al Santoli, an aide to U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California said the congressman, a longtime friend of Bowers, had urged him not to go to Afghanistan. Santoli called him &#34;a thrill-seeker in a war zone.&#34; <br> <br> <br>

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