But in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said U.S. officials remain in the dark. "We have received reports that he may be in contact with various individuals and there are other reports that he might be in Lebanon. But we cannot confirm any of these at this time," said Powell.
Late Wednesday, FBI agents showed up at the Hassoun family home in West Jordan, Utah. And Pentagon officials tell NBC News that the Navy has now launched a criminal investigation into Hassoun's disappearance, and the possibility that his kidnapping may be part of an elaborate hoax.
Few clues since disappearance in June Hassoun disappeared from his Marine unit on June 20. He showed up a week later in a hostage-style video, with a sword held over his head and his alleged captors threatening to kill him. Terrorist experts say, however, the group said to have held Hassoun is unknown.
"We don't know whether this group is simply an Internet address. ... We don't know if they were simply fabricated. We have no idea what's going on here," says terrorism expert Steve Emerson.
A second group later claimed Hassoun was beheaded — then retracted that claim. Pending the investigation, military officials refuse to say Hassoun's kidnapping was a hoax, but they point out he had reportedly talked openly about leaving his Marine unit to join his family in Lebanon. Whether he was kidnapped and then released along the way remains a mystery.
The smirk on his face says alot.
I guess the joke was on us.
The plot thickens. I'm very curious to find out what's going on. It's a strange situation.
He's gone underground and he won't come back up anytime soon. I suspected it was a hoax from the gitgo. It just didn't make any sense for jihadis to potentially alienate the valuable American Islamic community by offing one of their own.
Cause now we can hang him by his neck for desertion.
I won't say "I told you so" but I said whole episode didn't pass the smell test the first day it was reported.
He won't be back.
Semper Fi,
Kelly