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U.S. officials meet with alleged hunter of Osama bin Laden

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: U.S. gains access to Gary Faulkner
  • Faulkner detained in Pakistan recently
  • Faulkner told authorities that he was searching for Osama bin Laden

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. officials in Pakistan were allowed to meet Thursday with an American arrested while on a mission to hunt down Osama bin Laden, an embassy spokesman said.

U.S. officials withheld identification because no privacy act waiver had been signed. But Pakistani police and intelligence officials say the individual is Gary Faulkner, who was arrested in northern Pakistan on Sunday.

Faulkner, 50, was detained after he was stopped near the border with Afghanistan's Nuristan province, Pakistani police said. He was carrying a pistol, a sword, night-vision equipment and Christian books.

Faulkner told police that he had been looking for bin Laden since al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $25 million in return for information leading to bin Laden's arrest.

Video: Bin Laden hunter 'not psychotic'
Video: American arrested for hunting bin Laden
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The California-born independent contractor has lived in Colorado since 1968, according to his brother Scott Faulkner.

Gary Faulkner did not think the U.S. government was doing enough to bring bin Laden to justice, "and he felt that he was, as a Christian, not afraid -- that he could boldly step out and that doors would be opened for him," Scott Faulkner said.

CNN's Samson Desta contributed to this report.