The family of an American prisoner of war, captured four years ago in Afghanistan, said that they have received a letter, which they believe was written by their son, Bowe Bergdahl.
In a statement on Thursday, the family said that they were greatly relieved to receive the letter.
While acknowledging the Red Cross through whom they received the letter, the family renewed their plea to release their son who turned 27 on March 28.
"We hope Bowe's captors will again consider his parents' plea to release him, but in the meantime, we ask that you please continue to keep him in good health and allow him to keep corresponding with us," the family said in the statement.
Bergdahl, who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009, is held in Pakistan.
The Geneva based International Committee of the Red Cross is acting as a go-between for the American soldier and his family in Idaho.
"We talk to all the parties in a conflict ... to make sure the detainees are kept in good conditions, fed properly, taken care (of) if they have any medical need," said Alexis Heeb, a spokesman in Geneva, according to the Associated Press.
"Of course, one of the priorities, whatever a detainees' status, is they should have contact with their families. For us, it's essential that detainees stay in touch with their relatives, wherever they may be in the world."
Last year on Memorial Day, the U.S. President Barack Obama called Bergdahl's family reassuring them that the U.S. government was doing everything in their power to secure his return.
Idaho National Guard Spokesman Col. Tim Marsano, who is acting as a media liaison for the soldier's family, told the news agency that the letter seems to be genuine going by the details written in it.
The family has been in contact with the international organisation for some time in their efforts to get in touch with their son , the spokesman said.
