A U.S. soldier on Al-Jazeera videotape identified himself as Cincinnati native Matt Maupin Friday.
Pfc. Maupin, 20, a 2001 Glen Este High School graduate and Batavia native, was missing since April 9, when gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons to attack his convoy, the Pentagon said. The attack was one of many during a flare-up of casualties and instability in Iraq in recent weeks. Maupin is a member of the 724th Transportation Company, WLWT Eyewitness News 5 reported.
Four Americans, including two soldiers, were reported missing after that attack, and Maupin's whereabouts were unknown until Friday afternoon. Wednesday, the Pentagon confirmed that one of those bodies was that of a soldier, but officials still have not released that soldier's identity.
Friends and loved ones gathered for a candlelight vigil at the high school Thursday night, reported. Another vigil is planned for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Clermont County Courthouse.
Maupin, wearing his desert fatigues, is shown on the sitting on a floor, apparently unharmed, surrounded by masked Iraqi insurgents holding automatic rifles.
"My name is Keith Matthew Maupin," he said on the tape. "I am a soldier from the 1st Division. I am married with a 10-month-old child. I came to liberate Iraq, but I did not come willingly because I wanted to stay with my child."
On the tape, one of the gunmen was heard saying: "We are keeping him to be exchanged for some of the prisoners captured by the occupation forces."
Local Community Reacts
It's not clear when the videotape was made, but Maupin's friends in the Tri-State still expressed relief to WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Brian Hamrick Friday afternoon.
"It's painful," Kenny Jeffers said. "But I was happy to see that it was him on the tape. All we can do now is pray."
Maupin's close friend, Eric Key, told WLWT in a telephone interview late Friday afternoon that he was with Maupin the day before his deployment.
"I can't even begin to describe how happy I was to see him," Key said about the Al Jazeera videotape. "At the same time, I'm still a little sad, and I'm praying he makes it home OK."
Maupin has a brother in the Marines, who's come home on emergency leave, WLWT reported.
"They both have the same mentality," Key said. "They're outlook is always positive. They're hard-working guys."
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