Jefferey Edward Fowle, the American citizen recently detained by North Korea, is a municipal road-maintenance man from southwestern Ohio.

North Korea said on Friday that they had detained Mr. Fowle for committing "hostile acts" against the country.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Mr. Fowle was detained in mid-May because of a Bible that had been left behind in his hotel room.

However, Timothy Tepe, a Cincinnati lawyer who represents Mr. Fowle's family, said that Mr. Fowle was not on a mission for Urbancrest Baptist Church in Lebanon, Ohio, where he attended church.

Furthermore, Joseph Shihady, a pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in West Carrollton, where Mr. Fowle attended services, said that Mr. Fowle traveled to North Korea as a tourist.

In Washington, the State Department said that it was aware of reports about a third U.S. citizen who had been detained in North Korea.

Mr. Fowle is the third U.S. citizen known to be detained in North Korea, along with Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tour leader and Christian missionary.

Source: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL