English/Nat July 4 marks the fourth anniversary of the abduction of four western tourists from Kashmir. There have been several sightings of the men in the mountains since, but none have been verified. Captured militants claim the trekkers were killed and buried, but these reports also remain unsubstantiated. The wife of one of the kidnapped men, Jane Schelly, is in India-administered Kashmir for the anniversary and to continue her search. Jane Schelly has returned to Srinagar for the fifth time in the last four years. It was on July 4, 1995 that her husband Donald Hutchings along with five others was kidnapped while trekking in the mountains of Kashmir. Muslim rebels in the area have been fighting since 1989 for independence from predominantly Hindu India. The tourists were abducted by a little-known group calling itself Al-Faran, which demanded that the government release imprisoned guerrillas in exchange for the hostages. India refused, saying it would encourage more kidnappings. American John Childs escaped his captors. A Norwegian, Hans Christian Ostro, was executed and beheaded a month later. American Donald Hutchings, a German man and two Englishmen are still missing. Schelly says she will not give up till she has a definite answer. She is distributing leaflets to villagers in the hope that someone would recognise the hostages' photographs. The relatives of the ill-fated tourists have been coming back to Kashmir to check virtually every report or rumour. They also have travelled to Pakistan, where some of the guerrilla movements are based. There have been no contacts with Al-Faran for more than 3 years, but the army and police say they are still looking for the hostages. Captured militants soldiers have claimed the trekkers were killed and buried in the mountains. The government says there is no evidence to substantiate these reports. Schelly says till the bodies are found there may still be hope that they are alive. SOUNDBITE: (English) "In the light of the fact that there has been no confirmed sighting, no information, no negotiation, no demand and the report that they were killed and the bodies were buried in Magam, Akigam or that type of area. Where is the body ? And this is what we are really trying to find - if in fact they have been killed. For the last 4 years , I have been living in limbo." SUPER CAPTION: Jane Schelly, wife of missing American tourist Donald Hutchings The United States recently offered 2 (m) million dollars for information leading to the release of the captives while India announced a reward of 28,500 dollars. The search till now has not achieved any result. Occasionally, villagers report seeing the foreigners in the high mountain area, but these sightings have never been confirmed. Schelly is trying for one more time, but her hope for finding her husband alive is dwindling. SOUNDBITE: (English) "At this point my fear is that they are dead because there has been no information. If they are dead I think I can accept that and all the other family members can accept that. I tend to think that at this point at 4 years with no information the likelihood is probably high that they have been killed. But there is still that bit of uncertainty and until you have that uncertainty eliminated there is always that element of doubt. There is never a shut door - you can never know that it is absolutely closed." SUPERCAPTION: Jane Schelly, wife of missing American tourist Donald Hutchings The relatives of the missing tourists had been coming to India every year since their loved ones disappeared in July 1995. This time however, Schelly has come alone. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5413d8ee7fb116b725fa9413b403d8ff Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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