John Quinn, Jacob’s father from Cannon Falls, wants Jacob home.
He revealed to CBS Minnesota that his son, who was living in Winona, moved to Ukraine last summer. He was now teaching English in Kherson.
He said, “He met a girl there, fell in love with her, and got married. Now we are in a mess.”
Quinn explained that after the war began, Quinn received calls in the middle of the nights stating that bombs were falling and planes were fighting in the sky. These are the kinds of things you wouldn’t expect to hear.
Quinn stated that Jacob was on Saturday an evacuation bus for foreigners heading to Turkey. The bus was stopped at a Crimean checkpoint by Russian soldiers and Jacob was taken into custody.
Quinn stated, “It’s heartbreaking for your child to have to go through that.”
Quinn is the only American aboard, and the only one being detained. Quinn fears that his son may be used to propagandize Russia, especially after he appeared on Russian media.
Quinn stated that Quinn was the subject of a video about Quinn’s treatment of the prisoners in prison. It was heartbreaking.
He doesn’t know where Jacob’s at, but he does know he is tired and scared.
Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar released a statement saying, “My heart goes out Tyler’s family, and we will make every effort to locate him.” My office is working closely with the State Department in Washington and the U.S Embassy in Moscow to locate him and resolve this matter as soon as possible.
Quinn stated, “He’s an American, just like any other sport player or anyone important like him, so he is just the same importance to me as that player to their mom and father, so he should be here too.”
Quinn stated that Jacob’s wife was not allowed to ride on the bus, and she is still trying to flee for safety.