Wall Street Journal appeals for word from kidnappers

The last e-mail with a photograph of journalist Daniel Pearl, 38, was received by news organizations Wednesday.

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- The managing editor of the Wall Street Journal appealed Monday for word from the kidnappers of reporter Daniel Pearl to work out "Danny's safe release."

"We could resolve this situation if we could communicate more privately and more often," Paul Steiger wrote in an open letter to the group.

He suggested several ways the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty could contact him and confirm that it was holding Pearl.

"I suggest that we use an e-mail account of one of Danny's close friends, such as either of the two best men at his wedding, or a private phone line of one of these friends, or even a letter mailed to such a person," Steiger wrote.

MORE STORIES Full Text of letter from the Wall Street Journal

Steiger also told the kidnappers that such verification is needed because false messages from various individuals have "caused a great deal of confusion." Pearl, 38, has been missing since January 23.

U.S. assumes Pearl still alive

Nearly two weeks after his kidnapping, a senior State Department official said Monday U.S. and Pakistani investigators were tracking "multiple leads" and were "still at it hot and heavy."

"We're assuming he's still alive," the official said, but added it was "hard to be optimistic."

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Kenneth Dam, who arrived in Islamabad Monday for a previously scheduled meeting to discuss the war on terrorism, economic issues and India-Pakistan tensions, planned to consult on Pearl's case.

The Bush administration was "very pleased" with the level of cooperation it was getting from Pakistani authorities, another State Department official said Monday.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is scheduled to meet with President Bush next week, has directed "every resource possible" to the Pearl case, the official said.

Hard-line Islamic groups were still the primary suspects in Pearl's abduction, but investigators have had no communication with the kidnappers since Wednesday, when they sent an e-mail accompanied by a photograph of the journalist.

Pakistani authorities said they were not familiar with the kidnappers, who identified themselves as the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty.

Pakistani officials said several conflicting e-mail and telephone messages about Pearl were "bogus" and that henceforth any e-mail received without a photograph would be considered fake.

One body, many hoaxes

Officials said Sunday a body found in Karachi was not Pearl's, despite some news reports to the contrary.

Steve Goldstein, a spokesman for Dow Jones & Co., The Wall Street Journal's owner, repeated an appeal to Pearl's abductors to deliver proof -- a picture -- that the reporter is alive.

Pearl was abducted on his way to interview Sheikh Mubarik ali Gilani, head of the fundamentalist Islamic Jamaat ul-Fuqra group, about possible ties the group had with Richard Reid, the alleged shoe bomber now in jail in the United States.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad received a phone call Friday demanding a $2 million ransom. An e-mail received by news organizations the same day said Pearl had been executed, his body dumped in a Karachi cemetery.

Pakistani police detained a young man in connection with the phone call and two other young men in connection with bogus e-mails.

The first man was released after authorities determined he made the phone call to the U.S. Embassy as a joke. One of the other young men also was released.

--CNN correspondents Ben Wedeman and Andrea Koppel and producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.