An ordinary e-mail may not seem like much of a Mother's Day gift, but to Jo Rosano, the message in stilted English, forwarded by someone she doesn't know, is better than any card, brunch or bouquet of flowers.

Rosano, of Bristol, is convinced sentiments in the email that landed in her inbox Friday night are those of her son, Marc Gonsalves, who, along with two other Americans -- Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell -- has been held captive for more than four years by leftist guerrillas in Colombia.

Dated April 27, the e-mail appears to have been written by the brother of a Colombian hostage but mentions the three men among those held with him by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Further into the message, the writer - Vicente Perez - refers to the three North Americans and conveys what appears to be their plea to the American public and Congress to pressure President Bush to support an unspecified humanitarian agreement.

The e-mail, forwarded to Rosano on Friday, was attached to a "proof of life" video sent by FARC to the families of 12 Colombian politicians, Rosano said. She has heard from her son only once since his capture, when FARC sent a "proof of life" video to her and the families of the other Americans in August 2003.

Rosano believes the words of her son are in the third paragraph of the message.

It is directed at the families of the three men, praising them for giving the American hostages hope and asking the families to be strong, "specially your mother me, adored mother prettiest of the world."

The passage continues, thanking Rosano for bringing her son into the world, instilling principles and values that "I will take by always with me."

"Tomorrow you will turn years and you will feel all the love, of a thanked son and proud to have a so brave mother," the message concludes, noting that she is also worthy, respectable and adored. "In any moment we are going away to reunite, for that reason you must to take care of oneself, thousand little kisses and many hugs."

"I know this is my son sending this message to me," Rosano said Saturday. "He knows what I'm going through and he knows everything I am doing to help him."

Now 35, Gonsalves was doing drug surveillance with Howes and Stansell for a division of defense contractor Northrup Grumman Corp. when they were captured Feb. 13, 2003, by members of FARC. The single-engine plane carrying them and two other men crashed in a mountainous region south of the Colombian capital, Bogota. FARC has acknowledged killing the two others - American Thomas Janis and Colombian Army Sgt. Luis Alcides Cruz.

Experts estimate some 1, 900 people are abducted by FARC annually, most of them Colombians whose ranks include mayors, governors and one presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt.

The United States has spent billions in recent years to help Colombian forces combat drug-trafficking and the rebels who have been waging a 40-year-old war to topple the government and who now fund themselves mainly through that drug trafficking and with ransom money.

Rosano has worked tirelessly to call attention to the plight of her son and the other two Americans and other FARC hostages. She has traveled to Colombia three times and at least 10 times to Washington, D.C., most recently in March to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States.

Rosano joined the families of the other American hostages in March in criticizing a rumored plan by Bush to take military action against the rebels. A prisoner exchange is reportedly now being discussed.

Ed Mann, state director for U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who has worked closely with Rosano to press her case in Washington, said neither he or Dodd had seen the e-mail but were happy it lifted Rosano's spirits.

"She's been through a lot," Mann said.