Police identify body of American hostage

The police have identified the body of a foreign hostage found among the victims of the Theatre Center terrorist act, as that of Sandy Booker from the USA.

According to the press service of the US embassy in Moscow, "the identification took place yesterday and involved people who were well familiar with the victim." No other information about the victim has been released.

US diplomats say they have information about all Americans that had anything to do with the terrorist act. Among the former hostages, one was an American woman, who is now in hospital and doing quite well. The embassy keeps in touch with her. "She does not want her name to appear in the press," said a US diplomat.

He also said the list of casualties included the name of a naturalised citizen of the USA (a holder of a Green Card). One more US citizen is "alive and has already been discharged from hospital." Earlier, embassy employees were trying to locate an American woman who had supposedly been among the hostages. The search had been prompted by a report from the woman's US-based relatives, who had said she "might have been attending the show at the Theater Center." However, her name wasn't found in the list of hostages. "The relatives made no new attempts to contact the US authorities," said a source in the embassy.