Name: Christopher James Stone
Branch/Rank: United States Army/Staff Sgt
Unit: B Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Date of Birth: 1972 25 yrs old
Home City of Record: Smiths Creek MI
Date of Loss: 31 March 1999
Country of Loss: Macedonia/Serbia Yugoslavia
Loss Coordinates: last reported on a civilian road in Kumanovo, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, and less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Kosovo border.
Status: DETAINEE -- changed to POW 04/01/99
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Humvee/Ground
Missions: NOTE: Joined the service in August 1991, Married, wife Tricia, one son, Ryan.
Other Personnel in Incident: Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez; Spec. Steven M. Gonzales
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Compiled from news clips; AP, UPI, London Times, New York Post, ABC in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.

SYNOPSIS: Serb TV early today showed pictures of three American soldiers it said its forces captured near the Macedonian border.

The men were identified as Sergeants James Stone and Andrew Ramirez and Specialist Steven Gonzales.

The patrol, a unit from the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, was part of a NATO force put in place to secure Macedonia's border with Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.

[All three soldiers were assigned to B Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany.]

The soldiers were named on television are thought to be held in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.

The vice-president of Yugolslavia, Vuk Draskovic, said: "Nothing wrong will happen to them. We are respecting the enemy.

We will be sticking to the terms of the Geneva Convention. You can be sure of that." However, he then warned: "They are going to face Serb justice."

Pentagon and NATO officials said alliance forces and Macedonian police mounted an urgent air and ground search for the soldiers, who were last reported on a civilian road in Kumanovo, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, and less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Kosovo border.

The last words heard from them were "help, help, SOS."

Serbia claims they will hold a military trial for all 3 men.

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Abducted soldier called 'a tough kid'

CAPAC, Mich., April 1 (UPI) A Michigan farm town is praying for the safety of a local man who is one of three U.S. soldiers captured and held prisoner by Yugoslavian forces.

Concerned supporters of 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone include his former Capac (KAY-pak) High School cross country coach, Ken Marzka, who calls him "a great young man" and "a tough kid."

The soldier's father James Stone lives in the area and received a call from the Pentagon early today notifying him of the capture in Macedonia near the Yugoslavian border.

Sgt. Stone is a native of the Smiths Creek area, east of Capac, in Michigan's Thumb. His wife and young child reportedly live in the San Antonio, Texas, area.

Speaking with reporters today outside the high school, Marzka called the 1991 graduate "a great young man, and I sure hope he gets out of this mess as soon as he can."

Marzka adds, "I can't imagine him giving anything to those guys (his captors). Nothing."

School counselor Kathy Kish, who knew Stone as a member of a Students Against Drunk Driving group, said "we are concerned about his safety as well as the other two hostages."

Stone is a calvary scout. He's been serving with a peacekeeping force in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and was abducted while on patrol.

After their capture Stone along with 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez of Los Angeles and 24-year-old Spec. Steven M. Gonzales of Huntsville, Texas, were shown on Yugoslavian television.

( Note: 4/04/99  Statement released by Yugoslavian government on this date states that the 3 soldiers will not be tried and will be released as soon as the bombing stops. )