An Iowa State alumnus held captive for nearly a year in Colombia has been released.

Thomas Hargrove is reportedly safe at his home in Cali, Colombia, a friend of the family said Wednesday.

On Sept. 23, 1994, Hargrove was abducted while driving his jeep from Cali to his work site in the nearby town of Palimirad.

According to friends, Hargrove showed up at his home at about 10:10 p.m. CDT on Aug. 22, while his wife was on the phone with his brother, Radford Hargrove.

In a letter to a family friend, Hargrove’s brother said: “Tom is thinner, but sounds normal in every way.”

Hargrove was reportedly held hostage by the Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Hargrove’s abductors released him in a mountain region two days before he reached his home.

While walking through the remote region, he came upon a village where he was driven to his home after being recognized.

The abduction was “much worse than anything he had experienced in Vietnam,” Hargrove said to his brother.

Hargrove had been working at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) near Candelaria, Colombia about four years before his capture.

Little publicity was generated about the abduction at the request of the family.

Relatives were concerned that coverage would prompt Hargrove’s captors to raise his ransom.

Family members became concerned when they realized the motive of the kidnapping was financial and not political, said Jane Peterson, chairwoman of the ISU Journalism Department and a friend of Hargrove’s.

When the family became aware that the captors had financial motives, they attempted to discourage media coverage of the case. Relatives were concerned that the captors might think Hargrove held influence and power, allowing them to demand more money, Peterson said.