And for two days, the Ridgefield woman didn’t know if her son, Joshua Munns, was among the two dead men.

Finally, the FBI called Stewart back on Sunday night to let her know that the two men had been identified. On Monday, the FBI announced that the victims were Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo.

Stewart’s son and three other civilian contractors who were kidnapped more than a year ago remain missing, although five severed fingers from five of the hostages were sent to U.S. military officials earlier this month.

Stewart said the FBI had called the families of the missing men last week, even though the bodies hadn’t been identified — just in case word of the discovery got out.

“They didn’t want another media leak while they were doing DNA testing,” Stewart said by phone from her home Monday afternoon.
So, she spent the Easter weekend not knowing what news the next phone call might bring.

“I’ve had a lot of practice at that during the last 16½ months,” she said.

She also recognized that good news for her would mean bad news for another family, Stewart said.

“It’s survivor’s guilt,” Stewart said.

Stewart said she didn’t know Withrow was among the hostages until she learned on March 12 that the five fingers had been delivered to authorities. But she has had a chance to get to know the friends and loved ones of the other four missing men, and the families have been supporting each other.

Young’s mother, Sharon DeBrabander, said in an Associated Press story that her family had been told by the FBI not to comment. She said she may be able to respond in a day or two.

“For Sharon, her wait is over,” Stewart said. “She finally gets to put this to rest.”

 Munns, 25, of Redding, Calif., was working for a Kuwait-based company, Crescent Security Group, when he was kidnapped Nov. 16, 2006.
A former Marine who had served in Iraq, Munns was working with Young; Paul Reuben of St. Louis Park, Minn.; Jon Cote of Buffalo, N.Y.; and Bert Nussbaumer of Austria when the convoy they were guarding was ambushed at a fake police checkpoint near the southern Iraq city of Basra.

Withrow, 40, of Lubbock, Texas, was a contractor working for JPI Worldwide and was abducted on Jan. 5, 2007 near Basra.

Withrow’s mother, Barbara Alexander, told the Associated Press that an FBI agent delivered news of her son’s death Sunday night.

“You just can’t really be prepared for any news like that, especially when you had hope that your son is alive,” Alexander said by phone from her home in Afton, Texas. “I know he’s safe from all harm now. We’re bringing him home. That was what our main concern was. And that they’re not going to hurt him anymore.”

Alexander read from what she said was the final entry in a notebook in which she addressed her son directly.

“I know God has taken you home. I’m just someone that’s taken care of you,” Alexander said. “It’s hard to believe that you’re gone. But you’re in a more peaceful place than here. I’ll see you when I can. Wait for me at the gates of heaven.”

Monday’s statement from the FBI offered no details about the four missing men. 

A press release posted on the FBI’s Web site noted that: “The men and women of the FBI wish to express our deepest sympathy to the victims’ families. We understand that this is a very difficult time for all the families involved, and the FBI will continue to provide any assistance it can.

“This is an open investigation, and the FBI, working with its partners in the Hostage Working Group in Iraq, will continue to aggressively investigate every available lead in order to identify, apprehend, and bring to justice those responsible for this heinous criminal act.”