• In our meeting with the family, it is important to them, that you know who Bowe is and what he has accomplished in his 23 years.  I'd also like to take a moment to share some things I know about Bowe and some things I've learned.

 Some of you may have heard that I once rented Bowe an apartment that I own and I had several good friendly conversations with him as a result of that.  I found Bowe to be very courteous; he had an adventurous spirit, who impressed me at a relative young age.  I've also learned he's done a lot of other, really interesting things over the years such as:

- Bowe never owned a car, he doesn’t like them, so he would regularly ride his bicycle to work, 15-20 miles each way, in all kinds of weather.  I'm told he would put on up to 2,000 miles a year commuting to work. 

- He was a crewman on a sailboat that traveled from North Carolina to New York, to the Caribbean, Panama Canal and ended up in San Francisco.  He needed to get to Santa Barbara, so he jumped on his bike and rode the coast line. He then headed for his next adventure, which was traveling across Europe.

 -  He spent time as a crew member in Bristol Bay on a fishing boat in Alaska

- He loves martial arts and fencing

- He held several jobs in this valley - as many folks have done.  As you know he worked here at Zaney's but also at other restaurants. He worked at the local airport, did construction jobs, did remodeling work, and also had several jobs at a local shooting club.

- He would enjoy going on solo, very bare-bones bicycle trips and motorcycle rides.

He did all these things prior to going into the Army, not bad for someone that is now only 23 years old.  It’s these adventures and others, that made Bowe a very well-rounded person and I'm very glad to know him.

• In addition, I want to let people know that a vigil will take place tomorrow here at Zaney's, Wednesday, July 22 at 7 p.m.  Please pass the word on, and we hope the power of our community's thoughts and prayers will play a role in Bowe's safe return.

I’d also like to let you know that if folks have words of encouragement for the Bergdahl family, they can email them to me at sheriff@blainecounty.org (blaine county is spelled as one word). I will pass them on to the Bergdahl family.  We will also post any new info as it becomes available at www.blainesheriff.com