NEW YORK, (AP) – The New York Times say it’s holding out hope that four of its journalists who went missing while covering the Libyan conflict are alive and in the custody of the Libyan government.

Editors at the paper say they last heard from the journalists Tuesday morning. They were covering the retreat of rebels from the northern port city of Ajdabiya.

The Times says Libyan officials told the newspaper they were trying to locate them.

Times executive editor Bill Keller says there were unconfirmed reports that the journalists had been detained at a government checkpoint in a rebel stronghold. If so, he said they would eventually be taken to Tripoli.

The missing journalists are Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer; and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario.