NATION IN BRIEF : ILLINOIS : Miner Released by Rebels Back in U.S.

Wearing an “I love Peoria” T-shirt, an Illinois gold miner freed by Colombian rebels after 61 days returned to the United States and his boyhood home. He said his kidnapers had treated him “with great respect.” Scott Heimdal, 27, said earlier after arriving at Miami International Airport with his mother, Marge, that he was trying to find words to thank those in his hometown of Peoria, Ill., who had helped his family raise the $60,000 ransom they gave the communist People’s Liberation Army to win his release Friday. Yet in Quito, Ecuador, Heimdal had declined to name the group that kidnaped him. Heimdal recounted how he was captured April 28 while canoeing in Ecuador. “(Three attackers) killed the driver, wounded the other guy and took me hostage. They were looking to kidnap a North American,” he said. When Heimdal and his mother arrived in Peoria, they were greeted by about 100 friends and relatives carrying welcome-home signs.