Minnesota family says son was detained by Russian authorities amid invasion of Ukraine

A Minnesota family says their son was detained by Russian authorities as he was trying to flee Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s invasion late last month. 

Tyler Jacob’s father, John Quinn, told CBS affiliate WCCO that his son moved from his native city of Winona, Minn., to Ukraine last year to become an English teacher in the city of Kherson. Quinn added that his son is married to a woman who he met there. 

“He met a girl over there, fell in love, got married, and now we are in a mess,” Quinn said. 

Quinn said Jacob was on an evacuation bus headed to neighboring Turkey on Saturday, but when the bus reached a checkpoint at the Crimea peninsula, Russian authorities stopped the vehicle from proceeding and detained his son, according to the CBS affiliate.

Quinn also said he fears that Russian authorities are using his son, the only American citizen on board, as a tool for Russian propaganda since Jacob already appeared on Russian state media, the CBS affiliate reported. 

“It’s heartbreaking that your child would have to go through something like that,” Quinn said. “They eventually made a video with him as the subject about how well they were treating the prisoners over there, it’s heart wrenching.”

In a statement, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who recently visited the Poland-Ukraine border as part of a congressional delegation to the region, expressed her sympathy to Jacob and his family, the CBS affiliate reported. 

“My heart goes out to Tyler’s family and we will do everything to locate him. My office is working with the State Department and U.S. Embassy in Moscow to find him and resolve this situation as quickly as possible,” Klobuchar said.

Quinn said that Jacob’s wife wasn’t allowed on the bus and is still trying to flee the country. 

“He’s an American just like any other sports player, or anyone important like that, so he is just as important to me as that player is to their mom and dad, so he deserves to be here too,” Quinn told WCCO.

Russian authorities have also detained women’s basketball superstar Brittney Griner, who is accused of bringing hashish oil through the airport. 

Advocates, U.S. lawmakers and those who know Griner personally are worried that the two-time Olympic gold medalist faces physical danger in Russia, along with severe legal consequences as a political pawn in the Kremlin’s war with Ukraine.