India Calls Off Hostage Search

Security forces called off a hostage search Thursday after finding no trace of Spokane’s Donald Hutchings and three others abducted nearly a year ago by a militant group in Kashmir.

Soldiers found no evidence to prove a claim by a former guerrilla that the four had been killed and buried near Magam, 45 miles south of Srinagar, officials said.

The three-day search was launched at the request of the hostages’ governments, said K.V. Krishna Rao, the Jammu-Kashmir state governor.

The little-known Islamic militant group Al-Faran claims it no longer holds the hostages.