March 24, 2008 05:43 PM EST
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - - Authorities have recovered the bodies of John Young of Missouri and Ronald Withrow of Texas.

They were kidnapped in Iraq more than a year ago, and were believed to be held with former Amherst resident Jonathon Cote. Young worked in a private security company with Cote and was abducted with him.

About a week and a half ago, the severed fingers of Jonathon Cote and four other hostages were recovered by American authorities in Iraq. At the time, Jonathon's father, Francis Cote, talked to News 4 about the grim development.

Francis Cote, Jonathon's father, March 13, 2008, "We're still filled with hope that he's alive. These fingers are a method of proof of life. I'd rather have had video."

Today, on the family's website, freecote.com, Francis writes about the new development, "we really feel the need to ask for extra prayers...at least we have our faith to keep us strong..."

The 25 year old Cote appeared in a videotape that aired in January 2007. He was one of five security contractors kidnapped by militants in November 2006. The abductors posed as Iraqi Police. Still, after all this time, the Cote's and the other families are still dealing with a lot of uncertainty about the fate of loved ones.

Francis Cote, "It's like you're living in a dream world. You're hoping to wake up and find that everything is normal again."

According to the freecote.com web site, family members were contacted by the FBI last night and told about Young and Withrow.