Missing major found

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SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Police in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, found Maj. Jill Metzger alive Sept. 8, four days after she disappeared during a shopping trip there.

Bishkek police notified the U.S. embassy in the capital city at 3:15 p.m. EDT that they had found the officer.

In Southwest Asia, U.S. Central Command Air Forces spokesperson Col. Alvina Mitchell said, "We're just extremely elated" when the news came that the major was found.

"You work a lot of issues and it's very gratifying when you get such a good result -- when a fellow servicemember who was missing and has been found," she said.

Major Metzger deployed to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, where she was the chief of personnel for the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. The wing is part of the Air Force Air Expeditionary Task Force. She was just a few days from returning to her home base at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., when she went missing Sept. 5.

Col. Scott Reese, the expeditionary wing commander at Manas, said there was great cooperation between Air Force and local civil and police agencies during the search for the missing major.

"We are elated to have Jill back with us," the colonel said. "I want to praise the Kyrgyzstan government, Bishkek law enforcement officials and the cooperation of the U.S. embassy team for the rapid and thorough investigation resulting in the successful recovery of Major Metzger."

Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, was visiting Manas at the time of the recovery. He, too, praises the integration between the base and local officials.

"The cooperation with our Air Force military investigative team was outstanding," the general said. "Her recovery is fantastic news for her family and our military community."
Colonel Mitchell said a team of medical professionals is interviewing the major to determine her condition. The investigation into the major's disappearance is ongoing. 

Major Metzger deployed to Manas from the 347th Mission Support Squadron at Moody where she is a personnel officer. Throughout her mysterious disappearance, the main goal of Air Force officials was to find the major. At U.S. Central Command, Maj. Mike Young said the Air Force would leave "no stone unturned," until they found the major.

The major is also one of the Air Force's top female athletes in marathon running. While stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, she won the 2003 and 2004 women's division of the Air Force Marathon, held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.