29 Kidnapped Colombian Officers Found

BOGOTA, Colombia — An army patrol found 29 police officers abandoned by Marxist rebels in a jungle village Tuesday, three days after they were captured in a raid on their isolated base that left eight of their comrades dead.

The guerrillas with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, harried by military search helicopters, made the officers walk day and night through thick jungle before releasing them Monday, said the group’s ranking officer, Lt. Carlos Oviedo.

“They told us to stay there and that maybe another group of them would come to get us later,” Oviedo said in an interview with RCN television in Quibdo, looking cheerful after a wash and a change of uniform.

The rescued police were tired and hungry but in good health.