Fargo Forum - Family members of a man who grew up in Jamestown, N.D., awaited word from U.S. officials Tuesday night to determine if their Ronald Schulz was the latest person kidnapped and held hostage in Iraq.

Schulz%u2019s brother, Ed Schulz of Arvilla, N.D., said the family had been contacted by the U.S. government.

%u201CThey%u2019ve got his itinerary and everything now. We%u2019ll know for sure in 24 hours if he was in Iraq,%u201D Ed Schulz said.

He said Ronald Schulz, 40, was an industrial electrician and had been working in Iraq.

He said he last spoke with his brother on Nov. 4, when Ronald Schulz was back at his recent home in Anchorage, Alaska. . . .

Ed Schulz said he has been in touch with the State Department and FBI. He declined to share information about Ronald Schulz until he receives word one way or the other about his brother.

%u201CIf it is him and the FBI thinks it%u2019s a good thing to do, we%u2019ll be more than happy to help,%u201D he said. %u201CUntil then, it%u2019s a waiting game.%u201D

Answering the phone at her Jamestown home, Julie Schulz, Ronald Schulz%u2019 sister, said, %u201CAt this point, we don%u2019t have any information and no comment.%u201D

The video broadcast on Al-Jazeera showed a blond, Western-looking man sitting with his hands tied behind his back.

The video also bore the logo of the Islamic Army in Iraq and showed a U.S. passport and an Arabic identification card with the name Ronald Schulz. The spelling of the name was uncertain because it was written in Arabic.

Ed Schulz said his brother worked for several companies, and that it was not unusual that he had not heard from him for several weeks.

%u201CHe built a feed mill in China once and he disappeared for three weeks,%u2019%u2019 Schulz said.

Al-Jazeera reported Schulz worked for the Iraqi Housing Ministry, but there is also a Ronald A. Schulz shown to work with GE Global Asset Protection Services, which has security consultants worldwide.

Ed Schulz said Ronald Schulz had not been back to Jamestown since graduating from high school and joining the Marines in 1984. He left the Marines in 1991, and worked for several companies, Ed Schulz said.

According to the article Senator Conrad is busy trying to expedite information from Iraq on Schulz for the family. Lets hope he can confirm things, one way or another.

In the mean time, keep the Schulz family in your thoughts. This can't be easy for them.

Update:

Its him for sure. Here's a picture of Schulz's identification from the video:

BISMARCK - A man shown as a hostage on an insurgent video aired on Middle Eastern television is "my brother, there's no question about that," a North Dakota man said this morning.

The man shown in the video is Ronald Schulz, 40, an industrial electrician who has worked in Iraq, said Ed Schulz, of Arvilla.

He said he last spoke with his brother on Nov. 4, when Ronald Schulz was at his home in Anchorage, Alaska.

The video, broadcast Tuesday by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera, claimed insurgents had kidnapped a U.S. security consultant, and displayed a blond, Western-looking man sitting with his hands tied behind his back. The video bore the logo of the insurgent Islamic Army.

The video in question is available here.