Two American fathers detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands are heartened by the support as their stories went viral.
Bryan Hagerich of Pennsylvania and Ryan Watson of Oklahoma are both free on bond awaiting court hearings, charged with possession of ammunition they say was mistakenly left in their luggage after previous hunting trips.
“The outpouring of love, support and prayer, not only from friends and family, but also from long lost friends, or people you don’t even know, who have truly made a extra effort to support us and pray for us – it’s just, it’s unreal,” Hagerich said.
“It’s extremely humiliating,” Watson said. “It’s hard not to get emotional when we talk about it just because it means so much to me and (my wife) Val.”
Their wives hold the fort at home, trying as best they can to comfort their young children.
“I was trying to explain that they have certain laws, and they have certain consequences when you break their laws. And that’s what people are trying to understand right now,” said Valerie Watson, the wife of Ryan.
“We told them Dad had gone to work and he was working really hard to get home to us,” Ashley Hagerich said. “No one can replace having his father and my husband at home with us, we need him at home with us. He is our provider, he is everything to us.”
One of the big questions in this situation is how their luggage was able to pass through TSA security in the United States without the ammunition being detected. Watson left Oklahoma City, Hagerich left Pittsburgh.
“I certainly would have liked to have found him in Pittsburgh. Obviously, I think the scenario would probably be a little different right now,” Hagerich said.
“I transported it to Oklahoma City. That bag went through the scanner,” Watson said. “Nothing was reported or detected there.”
The U.S. State Department is warning travelers about strict new laws in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which include a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years for bringing weapons or ammunition onto the island. Follow NBC10 Boston on… Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston
Valérie Watson would also like it to be detected earlier.
“I just wish they had seen it, because our lives would be so different if they had seen it,” she said. “I don’t know why it wasn’t reported, how it didn’t show up on their screen.”
The Transportation Security Administration told NBC Boston on Thursday that it was aware of an incident in the Turks and Caicos Islands involving a U.S. citizen and was conducting a review at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma, l airport of origin. The agency will share updates as the review continues.
In April, the TSA released a statement saying it had screened more than 206 million passengers and intercepted more than 1,500 firearms at airport checkpoints nationwide during the first quarter of this year. Carrying ammunition through security carries a fine of $390 to $2,250.
It’s been almost 10 years since the Department of Homeland Security released the results of an internal investigation into security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports. In 2015, they found a 95% failure rate in detecting weapons.
Hagerich will be in court on May 3. Watson has a court date scheduled for June.
“I really feel like I’m being judged on May 3, too,” Watson said. “It’s Brian’s day and this case will set a precedent for us.”
“My understanding is that the prosecution will present its arguments, and we will also have the opportunity to present our arguments. And shortly after, the judge will pronounce the sentence,” Hagerich explained. “We are hopeful and optimistic that the outcome will be favorable for us. But no one knows. The uncertainty is the hardest thing right now, knowing that for 12 years I won’t have a family. “
An Indiana woman whose son was sentenced last year to eight months in a Turks and Caicos Islands prison for possessing ammunition spoke about a similar case against an Oklahoma man.
“I think for me, I really hope that our story helps prevent others from finding themselves in this situation,” Valerie Watson said.
“We are all human and we all have flaws,” Ashley Hagerich said. “So it’s very easy to make a judgment and think that this couldn’t happen to you, but we never thought that something like this could happen to us. And just to think that, you know, Brian could be far from us and our children for 12 years, because of an honest mistake – I can’t even let my mind go there.”
TSA officials recommend travelers start packing for each trip with an empty bag. They say this is the best method to avoid unintentionally packing a prohibited item.
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