Doubt clouds Bowers’ return
By Laurie Babinski
Editor in Chief
Shadows of doubt are being cast on the story of Clark Russell Bowers, a Pepperdine alumnus whose wife said he was kidnapped Jan. 9, tortured by a warlord, and then released in Afghanistan.
Bowers’ wife, Amanda, said that her husband called his family Friday from a hotel room in Pakistan, saying he had been released after being tortured with burning cigarettes and subjected to a mock execution.
Clark Bowers, a Missouri native, told The Birming-ham News in an interview Friday night that he had flown from Istanbul, Turkey, to Kabul, Afghanistan.
He declined to say where he landed, but did say, “it was not the way it was planned. I was initially kidnapped somewhere at the Pakistan and Afghanistan border.”
He would not identify his captors, though speculation has tied them to the Taliban or another native tribe. Bowers said they blindfolded him then moved him place to place while awaiting a $25,000 ransom.
Clark Bowers told The Birmingham News that he had been freed after $5,000 ransom was paid.
Bowers declined to say how the ransom was paid, but did say that some of it did come from his own pocket.
Bowers then told the News that after he was released, he flagged a taxi to Kandahar, spent the night there and then took another taxi to Quetta, Pakistan, on Friday.
He then flew on Pakistan International Airlines to Karachi, he said.
According to Amanda Bowers, Clark, 37, was on a private humanitarian mission to Afghanistan. Amanda Bowers has declined to say who financed the trip.
“It was a private venture, privately funded,” she told The Birmingham News.
Bowers said that after his release, he checked into the Karachi Sheraton under the name Clark Powers. Hotel clerks confirmed to the Associated Press that he had checked in, but could not confirm whether he was still there. Bowers declined to elaborate.
The U.S. Government has not confirmed Bowers’ story.
CNN reported Wednesday that a U.S. official had traced the calls Bowers allegedly made to his wife from Afghanistan from a satellite phone during his captivity. The official said the calls had come from Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
The revelation casts more doubt on the Bowers’ story, but concerns began to surface almost as soon as the story hit the media.
Questions were originally raised about why Bowers was in Afghanistan, the details of his travels and a relationship he claimed with Ronald Reagan’s 1984 presidential campaign.
Concerns have also surrounded a biography he provided to Bellevue University in Nebraska where he worked in 1998 as an adjunct professor. According to the Associated Press, the biography says that he attended Pepperdine University on basketball and debate scholarships.
Bowers received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1986 and participated in debate, which included a trip to Russia with friend and debate team member Chet Bieler and communications professor Dr. Ray Buchanan. However, according to Mike Zapolski, associate director of athletics, there is no record of Bowers’ scholarship or his membership on the basketball team.
Bieler has declined comment.
Bowers has also claimed that he was a member of the “national youth surrogate” in Reagan’s campaign. Officials at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley told the AP that the campaign didn’t have such an organization.
The Birmingham News reported that Bowers moved to Harvest, Ala., just outside of Huntsville, to do political and military consulting in the missile defense industry.
Controversy also arose about a Defense Department advisory position that Bowers told The Birmingham News he held. The News confirmed that the position does not exist.
According to Saturday’s News, Bowers said that some parts of his biography were “hyperbole.”
“You will find things that were put in the best possible light,” Bowers told the paper. “I think that’s what everyone does with every resume.”
According to The Huntsville Times, Amanda Bowers said her husband will be eager to answer questions once he’s had some rest.
Bowers is expected home in Harvest this week after debriefing American security and intelligence officials.
“I think we’ve been thrown on the defensive on things that frankly I don’t think are anybody else’s business,” The Huntsville Times quoted Amanda Bowers in its Saturday edition.
According to Amanda Bowers, Clark, 37, was on a private humanitarian mission to Afghanistan. Amanda Bowers has declined to say who financed the trip.
Bowers said that after his release, he checked into the Karachi Sheraton under the name Clark Powers. Hotel clerks confirmed to the Associated Press that he had checked in, but could not confirm whether he was still there. Bowers declined to elaborate.
The U.S. Government has not confirmed Bowers’ story.
CNN reported Wednesday that a U.S. official had traced the calls Bowers allegedly made to his wife from Afghanistan from a satellite phone during his captivity.
The official said the calls had come from Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
The revelation casts doubt on the Bowers’ story, but concerns began to surface almost as soon as the story hit the media.
Concerns have also surrounded a resume he provided to Bellevue University in Nebraska where he worked in 1998 as an adjunct professor.
According to the Associated Press, the biography says that he attended Pepperdine University on basketball and debate scholarships.
Bowers received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1986 and participated in debate, which included a trip to Russia with friend and debate team member Chet Bieler and communications professor Dr. Ray Buchanan.
However, according to Mike Zapolski, associate director of athletics, there is no record of Bowers’ scholarship or his membership on the basketball team.
Bieler has declined comment.
Bowers has also claimed that he was a member of the “national youth surrogate” in Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. Officials at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley told the AP that the campaign didn’t have such an organization.
The Birmingham News reported that Bowers moved to Harvest, Ala., just outside of Huntsville, to do political and military consulting in the missile defense industry.
Controversy also arose about a Defense Department advisory position that Bowers told The Birmingham News he held. The News confirmed that the position does not exist.
According to Saturday’s News, Bowers said that some parts of his biography were “hyperbole.”
“You will find things that were put in the best possible light,” Bowers told the paper. “I think that’s what everyone does with every resume.”
According to The Huntsville Times, Amanda Bowers said her husband will be eager to answer questions once he’s had some rest.
Bowers is expected home in Harvest this week after debriefing American security and intelligence officials.
“I think we’ve been thrown on the defensive on things that frankly I don’t think are anybody else’s business,” The Huntsville Times quoted Amanda Bowers in its Saturday edition.
January 24, 2002