Russian Officials Report Finding Body of American Relief Expert

The body of a man reported to be Frederick C. Cuny, an American disaster relief expert who disappeared last month while on an emergency mission to Chechnya, has been found shot in the head in a village south of Grozny, the capital, officials said today.

There has been no official confirmation that the body is that of Mr. Cuny and there may not be for several days, said American Embassy officials in Moscow. There have also been questions about whether the body was reported to be that of Mr. Cuny simply because it was of a man well over six feet tall, as he was. But, while hesitant to speak with certainty, officials with knowledge of the case said it seemed so far that the victim fit Mr. Cuny's description.

The body, discovered by boys in a settlement near the town of Shali, had two bullet holes in the head. There are no forensic laboratories in that region, torn by war for months now, so a more conclusive examination will have to occur in Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.

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