Minneapolis hosts vigil for hikers held in Iran

Families and friends of the three American hikers detained in Iran will mark the 100-day anniversary of their detention at a candlelight vigil in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Shane Bauer, a freelance journalist and Minnesota native, his girlfriend Sarah Shourd, and friend Joshua Fattal were hiking in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region on July 31 when they may have accidentally crossed the border in to Iran. Iran's state television said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border guards.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had an emotional meeting on Thursday with the families of the three hikers. She said the U.S. government is doing everything it can to get the trio released and called on Iran to free them on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

"These three young people are obviously not only on the minds of their family members but on the minds of all of us," Clinton told reporters after the closed-door talks with the families. "It was an emotional meeting and I described to the families everything that we are doing."

Bauer grew up in Onamia, Minnesota, 90 miles north of Minneapolis. His mother, Cindy Hickey, lives near Pine City in eastern Minnesota.

The former Minnesotan spent much of the last six years in the Middle East and North Africa working as a freelance journalist and photographer. His work has been published in the L.A. Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New American Media, The Christian Science Monitor and other news services.

"His work was always looking at people and how they lived," said Annette Fuentes, managing editor of New American Media. Fuentes described Bauer as "a serious, responsible person with great respect for the Arab world."

The vigil will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday at Minnehaha Falls, 4801 S. Minnehaha Park Dr., Minneapolis.

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