CIA Reports Officer Killed in Prison Uprising

A family friend who answered the door yesterday afternoon said the family did not wish to comment. Faatz said he believed Spann's wife and the children had left the house at least a few days ago after getting word that Spann was missing.

At Manassas Park Elementary school, where Spann's oldest daughter, Alison, 9, is in the fourth grade, administrators had been awaiting confirmation of Spann's death before telling her classmates. "There's a great deal of sadness to be dealt with," said principal Patricia Miller. "She's a wonderful child, a bright child. When we last saw her, she didn't know."

"I know the children will be very supportive," Miller said. "Fourth-graders will express their sadness as fourth-graders can."

Speaking to reporters outside his home in Winfield, Spann's father, Johnny, a real estate agent, said the Spann family had already told Alison what had happened to her father.

"We told her exactly what he was doing -- he was out there fighting for his country and our freedom," Spann said. "Our family wants the world to know that we are very proud of our son, Mike, and we consider him a hero.

Asked who he blames for his son's death, Spann father had a clear, short answer: "Osama bin Laden." He added without elaborating that he also believed that media reports from northern Afghanistan over the last week had increased the danger to his son.

Spann recalled how his son once told him why he joined the CIA: " 'To make the world a better place for us to live,' " Spann said. "And that is exactly what he was doing in Afghanistan -- and we're proud of his dedication and his service to our country."

Family friends in Winfield spoke of Spann's determination, even as a high school student, to become either an FBI agent or a CIA officer. "He was a good competitor -- a tough kid, mentally and physically," said Joe Hubbert, the retired coach of the Winfield High School football team and fellow parishioner at the Winfield Church of Christ.

He recalled how Spann, at about 5 foot, 8 or 9 inches and 160 pounds, came out for football his senior year and played in every game at either running back, wide receiver or defensive back before heading to Auburn University.

"One day, I asked him, 'Mike, what do you want to do in life?' and he said, 'First of all, I want to get college behind me, and then I want to be either an FBI or a CIA agent -- and maybe even fly an airplane,' " Hubbert said.

Instead of flying jets, Spann joined the Marines straight out of college as a private and became an officer less than a year later. "He was kind of a tough guy, is what he was," said Marine Maj. Mike Mullins, who served in Okinawa for a year and a half as Spann's commanding officer in Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines. "His purpose in life was to prepare himself and his unit to go to war."

Mullins said Spann, then a lieutenant, became his executive officer and kept the artillery unit functioning like clockwork. "I knew he was trying to get into the CIA because he asked me for a letter of recommendation -- and I never knew if he got it. Obviously, he did," Miller said.

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking minority member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said yesterday that the prisoners at Mazar-e Sharif had hidden weapons and "didn't plan to surrender."

After speaking by telephone with Spann's father and wife, Shelby said: "I've been briefed on the circumstances, and they should be proud of him."

Staff writer Maria Glod contributed to this report.