4 Boy Scouts safe

2001-07-31 22:24

Richmond, Virginia - Four Boy Scouts from Tanzania who left the National Scout Jamboree over the weekend are seeking asylum in the US, a spokesperson with the US Immigration and Naturalization Service said on Tuesday.

Mary Johlie, a spokesperson for the FBI in Richmond, said the boys turned themselves in to police in Washington on Monday night. Representatives from the INS questioned them on Tuesday morning, Johlie said.

The boys, who range in age from 14 to 17, are part of a nine-Scout contingent from Tanzania. The scoutmaster last saw them on Sunday afternoon, Johlie said.

A District of Columbia police official said the youths hitchhiked into the city and turned themselves in at the detention centre near the National Mall shortly before midnight on Monday. Authorities have not released the boys' names because they are minors.

Scout and military officials began searching the Fort AP Hill base when the boys were reported missing on Sunday. The search was later expanded outside the Army post in Caroline County. State Police Lt Don Fields said that at least some of the missing scouts have relatives in Maryland. A relative had been seen visiting the boys last week, Fields said.

The Jamboree, which began July 23 and ends Wednesday, includes more than 32 000 Scouts from all over the United States and 26 foreign nations. - AP

- SAPA