US Offers $5m Reward For Missing American In Afghanistan
The United States has offered a $5m reward for information leading to the recovery of Paul Edwin Overby, an American citizen who disappeared in Afghanistan 12 years ago.
The United States has offered a $5m reward for information leading to the recovery of Paul Edwin Overby, an American citizen who disappeared in Afghanistan 12 years ago.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the writer and researcher was last seen in Afghanistan’s Khost province. The agency said the identities of those who provide information leading to his recovery will remain confidential.
Paul Edwin Overby Jr. disappeared while travelling toward Pakistan’s Waziristan region and was last seen in mid-May 2014 in the city of Khost. He was conducting research in the area for a book.
The FBI first announced a reward of $1m in 2018 for information leading to his whereabouts and has repeatedly appealed for information since his disappearance.
In May 2025, the United States raised the reward to $5m for information on Overby’s location, recovery and return, though the announcement has only recently drawn wider media attention.
CNN reported in October last year that Overby may have died in Afghanistan. Nearly 12 years after he went missing, the circumstances of his disappearance remain unclear.
The development comes after Washington designated the Taliban administration as responsible for wrongful detentions, accusing it of holding US citizens.
US officials have previously said the Taliban use detainees as leverage in negotiations.
