Tim Tepe, an attorney who is acting as a family spokesman, says 56-year-old Jeffrey Edward Fowle of Miamisburg, Ohio, “loves the adventure of experiencing different cultures and seeing new places.” Tepe says Fowle’s wife and three children miss him and are anxious for his return.
Mark Edward Howard, who attends Fowle’s church, said Friday that he’s “a very good Christian father” and husband.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said that Fowle was being detained for acts inconsistent with a tourist visit, but provided no details.
One of the other two U.S. detainees is missionary Kenneth Bae, who is serving 15 years of hard labor for what North Korea says were hostile acts against the state.
North Korea says the third detained American, Matthew Miller, entered the country in April with a tourist visa, but tore it up and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum.