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Three American hikers detained in Iran since
July 31 entered the country by mistake and their families are
hoping for a quick resolution that will reunite them with their
children, the families said in a statement Tuesday.


      Joshua Fattal, freelance journalist Shane Bauer and Bauer's
girlfriend, Sarah Shourd, were hiking near a waterfall on a
mountain in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region on July 31 when they
accidentally crossed the border into Iran, according to family
members.

      They contacted a colleague to say they had entered Iran by
mistake and were surrounded by troops, according to a Kurdish
official in Iraq. Iran's state television said the Americans were
arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border
guards.


      "Shane, Sarah and Josh are young travelers who share a great
love of the world and a deep respect for different cultures,
societies and religions," the families said in a statement to The
Associated Press. 


"We believe that when the Iranian authorities
speak to our children, they will realize that Shane, Sarah and Josh
had no intention of entering Iran and will allow them to leave the
country and reunite with their families," the statement said. "We continue to hope that
this misunderstanding will be resolved as quickly as possible."


Bauer grew up in Minnesota. All three are graduates of the University of California, Berkeley.


      Bauer, 27, and Shourd, 31, previously lived in the San Francisco
Bay area, but the statement said they most recently had been living
in Damascus, Syria. 


Pacific News Service had hired Bauer to cover
the elections in northern Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region; Shourd
has written for a number of online publications, including Brave
New Traveler.

      Fattal, 27, spent three years recently living with a group
dedicated to sustainable farming near Cottage Grove, Ore. He lived
with about nine others and worked as the group's intern coordinator
before leaving about eight months ago.

      Bauer's mother, Cindy Hickey, of Pine City, Minn., and Shourd's
mother, Nora Shourd, of Oakland, Calif., said last week that they
hoped the three would be allowed to safely leave Iran. Fattal's
father, Jacob, who runs a tech magazine outside Philadelphia,
echoed those sentiments.


      From January to June, Fattal traveled overseas as a teaching
assistant with the International Honors Program, visiting
Switzerland, India, South Africa and China on a global ecology
program. Fattal had been a student in the program during college.

      A fourth person, Shon Meckfessel, was supposed to have gone on
the hike but did not because he felt sick.

Gallery

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Minnesota woman confirms son missing in Iran

Three American hikers detained in Iran since
July 31 entered the country by mistake, and their families are hoping for a quick resolution that will reunite them with their children, the families said in a statement Tuesday.

Families: American hikers entered Iran by mistake

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