Man accused of spying in Russia returns to hometown

Saturday, Jan. 17, 1998 | 6:39 a.m.

He arrived in Longview, a city of 34,000 people near the Oregon border about 105 miles south of Seattle, on Saturday afternoon, said his stepmother, Lou Bliss.

Bliss was staying at the home of his father, Robert Bliss of Longview, and his stepmother.

He flew to Portland, Ore., from Carson City, Nev., where he had been visiting his mother, Lou Bliss said. After arriving in Longview, Bliss had a meal and changed his clothes before the family planned to head to the Monticello Hotel.

There Bliss planned to meet with well-wishers and answer questions from reporters before dining at the hotel with family members and relatives, Lou Bliss said.

Bliss tentatively planned to return to San Diego on Monday, but Lou Bliss said her stepson might go skiing at Mount Hood in Oregon if weather permits.

"He needs to get back involved in regular old things like skiing and forget about this," Lou Bliss said. "It's still plaguing him that he may have to go back to Russia. The charges are still hanging over his head and it's a big strain.

"Until we hear it from the Russians, we have to assume that there's still a chance he may have to go back," she said.

Bliss, 29, is a field technician for San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. who was working to install a $5.6 million cellular telephone system under contract with the Russian government.

He was arrested Nov. 25 in Rostov-on-Don, a town some 700 miles south of Moscow, when Russian officials accused him of using illegal equipment and surveying sensitive sites.

Bliss was released from jail after 12 days, but was told he would have to remain in Russia.

Russia allowed him to return to the United States for Christmas on the condition that he come back by Jan. 10. Russia later said he did not have to return by that deadline, though it has not dropped the spying charges.

Bliss has maintained his innocence. He has said Russian authorities simply mistook his cellular installation gear for high-tech spying equipment.

Bliss, who has said he would return to Russia if he had to, was in northern Nevada this past week to visit his mother, Judy Bradley of Carson City. He also bought a beer in Sparks for Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who helped secure his release from Russia.

"Buying him a beer was the least I could do," Bliss said.

Bryan said he has been told by the Russian foreign ministry that they do not believe Bliss is guilty of espionage. He said he would continue to work to have the charges formally dropped.