OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Gray News) – An Oklahoma mom had an emotional reunion with her two kids Tuesday, but one family member was missing.
Valerie Watson has spent more than a week out of the country. She and her husband Ryan were held in Turks and Caicos after bullets were inadvertently left in their luggage after a hunting trip.
It’s a serious offense on those islands, with a minimum prison sentence of 12 years. Officials released Valerie Watson on Monday but locked up her husband.
“We know that God’s still working, and he’s working through us,” Valerie Watson said.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment for a while,” she said of being reunited with her kids. “I didn’t know when it was going to happen. I was prepared to also be arrested yesterday.”
The Watsons have some help in their fight. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt sent a letter to government officials in Turks and Caicos on April 16. He calls Watson “an avid outdoorsman,” arguing the ammunition was “an inadvertent oversight, not an intentional attempt to break the law. “
The office of Sen. Markwayne Mullin said they’ve been in touch with the family and are doing everything they can to help.
Valerie Watson said she’s been anticipating embracing her children.
“I don’t even have words to describe it. Just getting to hold them again, it just filled my momma heart. It made me so happy. It just gives me a lot of comfort to know that I get to be here with them now. But my wife heart is still breaking because Ryan’s not with me,” she said.
Valerie Watson said that there’s still work to be done to get her family back together.
“Routine has never sounded better, but I know our life is different. And our goal is to get Ryan home because we can’t be a family without Dad,” she said.
Copyright 2024 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. KOKO via CNN Newsource contributed to this report.