Child may not be hostage

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia (CNN) - A dramatic development raised hopes Monday that a three-year-old boy who was born in captivity in the Colombian jungle may be free.

The boy, known as Emmanuel, was in line for freedom with his mother and another woman who were kidnapped six years ago by a rebel force that the U.S. and Colombia view as a terrorist organization.

 Yet "Operation Emmanuel" appeared to collapse Monday, with the Colombian government and rebels trading blame for the failure of rebels to free the hostages.

As the mission's fate remained clouded in uncertainty, President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia stunned a throng of reporters Monday by saying that Emmanuel may not be in rebel hands after all and that the boy may live in a foster home in the Colombian capital of Bogota.