American John Redwine, found dead in a remote mountainous area of Lebanon three days after he was reported missing, died from an accidental fall, security officials and his family said Wednesday.
Redwine, 33, from Sioux City, Iowa, was "doing what he loved, alpine climbing in the Lebanon Mountains," his family said.
The Daily Star newspaper had reported that about 100 Lebanese army personnel and other security forces, two helicopters and search dogs and a team from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon had been looking for Redwine following his disappearance.
At the time of his death, his family said, Redwine was the communications officer and editor on a regional cooperation project on water issues for the United Nations Regional Economic and Social Development Commission in western Asia and the German Federal Institute for Geo-Science and Natural Resources in Beirut. He also had served as a freelance producer and journalist at Fox News, project director at Albany Associates, managing editor at Executive Magazine, Analyst and Copy Editor at The Middle East Reporter, and desk editor at ABC News, the family said.
Redwine leave behind his wife, Irina, and their 2-month old son, Winston, the family said.
Doug Griffin, a director at Albany communications, earlier said he and his staff were "very saddened" by Redwine's death.
"He worked closely with many of our colleagues. It's really sad news," he told msnbc.com.
On his Twitter account, which was last updated on Dec. 14, Redwine featured a number of news articles and details of news events in Lebanon and the Middle East.
Services are planned Friday in Beirut and Tuesday in Sioux Falls.
