MASHPEE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Three Afghanistan National Army officers who vanished during training in Massachusetts are now in custody of U.S. immigration officials after being detained on the Canadian border.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Tuesday that the officers face removal proceedings after being charged with administrative immigration violations.
But what did they do before heading north?
It was Friday night and Zachary's Pub in Mashpee was was busy.
"Especially when we have training weekends go on, we have people come in. Usually they're by the group. 10, 20," said manager Kristen Hinson. "We'll get a bunch of people from the military base."
At around 10 p.m., Hinson said a group of about seven military servicemen came in. In the group were the three Afghan officers who would later go missing and be found near the Canadian border.
FOX 25 positively identified at least one of the men in the surveillance video from visa photos confirmed by Pentagon official to the Fox News network.
"I don't know much about their culture, but I do know what they saw when they came in was not what they're used to seeing at home," Hinson said.
Employees of the popular Cape Cod strip club say the men where accompanied by an American supervisor. The Afghan officers were off-duty during a week-long training exercise on Joint Base Cape Cod.
Hinson says they used their passports to gain entry, drank and enjoyed the live entertainment.
"I think they were a little thrown back by that but didn't seem like it took them too long to adapt," Hinson said. "They had a good time, I think."
At least one of the soldiers got a lap dance from one of the club's employees. Dancer Melissa McNeely said that some cultural differences led to a misunderstanding when it came time for the dance to end.
"He did not understand at all what I was saying," she said. "The kid kept asking me, can we go somewhere, like can we be private somewhere."
The group was inside for about three or four hours. They enjoyed themselves and then left. It wasn't until the next day that the owner at Zachary's Pub was contacted by authorities because the men were reported missing.
The three officers were found two days later in Niagara Falls, reportedly attempting to defect.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said their agency took custody of the men Tuesday morning.
Cox Media Group
