November 9, 1993, Seattle Times News Services, Machine-Gun Fire Blocks Search for Kidnap Victim,

November 9, 1993, Seattle Times News Services, Machine-Gun Fire Blocks Search for Kidnap Victim,

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - Police gunboats searching for the kidnappers of an American linguist were forced to withdraw today after they encountered heavy machine-gun fire from the shore, a military official said.

Col. Romeo Daranciang, chief of the task force searching for the linguist, said police found two small boats believed used to take him to the northern coast of Jolo Island, about 30 miles west of where he was seized Sunday.

But police came under heavy fire from a settlement near the town of Patikul, he said.

Charles Walton, 60, of Philadelphia, was believed held by people allied with Abu Sayyaf, a shadowy Muslim extremist group. He was the fifth person kidnapped in the southern Philippines since Nov. 9.