Three Afghan National Army officers are in custody after a manhunt that spanned from Cape Cod to the Canadian border crossing in Niagara Falls, New York.
The major and two captains went missing during what was supposed to be a "cultural excursion" at the Cape Cod Mall in Barnstable, Massachusetts, Saturday night.
"It was kind of frightening," said Bourne resident Lois Bailey. "A little close to home, being that I live just a couple minutes away from the base, and it just kind of made me nervous thinking about 9/11 all over again."
"I think a lot of people were a little nervous at first, until the governor said you have nothing to worry about," said Mashpee resident Frank Murphy. "But you wonder, you know?"
Gov. Deval Patrick echoed sentiments from military leaders that he did not believe the men posed a threat while they were missing.
They had arrived at Camp Edwards on the Cape on Sept. 11th for an international training exercise, with their backgrounds and credentials thoroughly checked out by the U.S. government.
The men were also reportedly unarmed.
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"There was a lot of speculation, including that they may be trying to defect," said Gov. Patrick.
In a statement Monday night, the Massachusetts National Guard reiterated that they never believed the missing soldiers posed a threat to the public.
"The soldiers are currently being questioned by the [Canadian Border Security Agency] and their future status is still to be determined," the release read.
Two Afghan police officers were taken into custody not far away in Buffalo, New York, just last week after disappearing during drug trafficking training in Washington, D.C.
Now some are wondering whether the two incidents are related, and what the real motivations were behind their disappearances.
"Although the news this morning was saying that it was nothing to be concerned about, there was something to be concerned about, or there wouldn't be as much activity going on about it," said Bailey.
