The 23-year-old American soldier being held captive in Afghanistan grew up in this small resort town in Sun Valley, carving out a reputation as a daredevil and adventurer always in search of new horizons to explore. Bowe Bergdahl is described by loved ones in turns as a ballet dancer, a fencer, a voracious reader and a young man fascinated by guns. Educated at home and intrigued by weaponry, he took part in re-enactments of renaissance sword-fights, studied martial arts and worked at the Sun Valley Gun Club. Walt Femling, a family friend and the sheriff of Blaine County, said Bergdahl loved to hear about a trip Fleming had taken to Alaska as a young man. 'I had gone up there at exactly his age and he was interested to know what it was like,' said Femling, who rented an apartmet to Bergdahl. 'Logging, fishing. He was an adventurer, I suppose. Always wanted to try new things.' Bergdahl was captured June 30 under circumstances that remain unclear. While two U.S. officials said July 2 that he had 'just walked off' the base in Paktika province with three Afghans, Bergdahl says in a video released by the Taliban on Saturday that he was captured after falling behind on patrol. It is highly unusual for soldiers to walk off-base in Afghanistan without being accompanied by other soldiers. In the video, Bergdahl is shown pleading for U.S. troops to come home from Afghanistan and saying he is worried that he will 'never be able to hug' his family again. President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have denounced the video as propaganda. They say the U.S. military is doing all it can to find Bergdahl -- a member of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Bergdahl's relatives have not spoken to the media. But Femling, who has acted as a spokesman since news of the capture became public, said the family has been overwhelmed by the support it has received. 'As you know, the situation is extremely difficult for everyone involved,' he said, reading a statement the family issued. 'We'd like to remind all of you our sole focus is seeing our beloved son Bowe safely home.' Bergdahl's godmother, Kim Harrison Dellacorva, told the Oregonian newspaper that Bergdahl spent time as a crew member on an Alaskan salmon boat -- one of a string of adventures including a bicycle trip down the California coast. And that was before he joined Sun Valley Ballet School, where he got ribbed by his friends for appearing in performances such as 'The Little Mermaid.' 'He's a strong presence, very interesting, very diverse,' said Sue Martin, the owner of Zaney's coffee shop, where Bergdahl worked for about two years. 'He did take a lot of pressure for being a young man in ballet. ... Everybody was joking with him continually about it, until the picture came out in the local paper and he was surrounded by beautiful young women, and then it became clear why Bowe went to every practice.' Bergdahl's capture is particular poignant for Martin, whose son, Zane, died in a motorcycle accident six months before Bergdahl started working at her coffee shop. 'I was suddenly aware that Bowe was there helping me,' she said. 'He shoveled pathways or swept snow off my car. That's something my son would do. It wasn't spoken but I appreciated it.' Hailey residents are showing their concern for Bergdahl by putting up signs, candles and yellow ribbons on the streets of their little town, surrounded by mountains. Hailey, a pit stop for millionaires and celebrities on the way to Sun Valley vacation homes, is also a place where residents all know one another, at least to say `hi.' 'So when something like this happens, it shakes us all up,' said Rob Beck, a tree-cutter from Hailey who has known Bergdahl's father, a UPS delivery driver, for 15 years. Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report. 