Mother of man detained by Russians relieved ordeal is over
(NewsNation) — A Minnesota mother is breathing a deep sigh of relief after her 28-year-old son was released by Russian troops after being detained in Crimea for 10 days.
“It was like angels singing from the choir,” Jacob’s mother, Tina Hauser, told “NewsNation Prime” on Sunday. “It was just so peaceful over my whole body when I got to hear his voice come through.”
Tyler Jacob was teaching English in Kherson, Ukraine when the war began. As Russian forces started to advance, Jacob attempted to leave the country on a bus to Turkey and that’s when he ran into trouble.
Russian troops removed Jacob from the bus and held him for 10 days before he was released and reunited with his wife and daughter. Family members in America were overjoyed when they heard the news.
Hauser said she reached out to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar when she heard her son had been captured by Russian troops.
Sen. Klobuchar then reached out to the U.S. State Department and connected with John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, who discussed the situation with the Russian government.
Hauser said the Russians wanted information from Jacob.
“He was questioned pretty much every day from the military on what was going on and who he was,” said Hauser. “He was just truthful about it, he had nothing to hide.”
Now, Jacob’s wife, who is Ukrainian, and daughter are working to get visas so they can return home safely to the United States.
Even though it was a stressful and terrifying experience, Hauser said the whole ordeal has brought her family closer together.
“It’s a sad thing to have to go through and very horrifying but I try to look for the positives and here we are closer even yet,” Hauser said.