The Nation - News from Nov. 20, 1988

Two American activists back home in North Carolina said they were held in Laotian jails for six weeks and that they are sure American POWs from the Vietnam War era are still being held in Laos. Donna Long, 45, and James Copp, 44, said they were captured near the Mekong River when they ventured over the border from Thailand on their mission to document that POWs are being held. They said they were flown to Vientiane, the Laotian capital, and interrogated roughly by Laotian officials who demanded why they “were interested in the criminals.” Long and Copp said that and many other present-tense references made it clear to them that American POWs are still being held. During the Vietnam War, 547 GIs were lost in Laos. Many were reported alive after their planes went down but both the U.S. government and Laotian officials deny prisoners of war are still being held.