“They found deer-hunting ammunition within my checked luggage, the bag that I frequently use on weekends trips to our hunting property and other hunting trips,” Bryan Hagerich tells Inside Edition.
Two American tourists arrested in Turks and Caicos after being caught with ammunition in their luggage say they had forgotten they had been carrying bullets in their bags.
Ryan Watson and Bryan Hagerich were both arrested in separate cases at the airport in Turks and Caicos as they were returning home from their family vacations. They both had ammunition in their luggage.
Under Turks and Caicos law, a passenger attempting to board a plane with a gun or ammunition is subject to a mandatory 12 years in jail. At least eight Americans have been arrested since the law went into effect.
Hagerich has not been able to leave the island for 72 days. Local authorities refused to let him leave, but his wife and children were permitted to go home.
“They found deer-hunting ammunition within my checked luggage, the bag that I frequently use on weekend trips to our hunting property and other hunting trips,” Hagerich tells Inside Edition.
Hagerich’s wife, Ashley, who is home in Pennsylvania, tells Inside Edition it is unbearable to be away from her husband.
“Never in a million years did I think that a vacation to one of our favorite places in the world would end up with our family being devastated and completely ripped apart,” Ashley says. “The kids are hanging in there, it’s been really difficult. They are both huge daddy’s kids. They miss him very much.”
Watson was arrested two weeks ago. His wife, Valerie, is back home in Oklahoma.
“He can’t be there for 12 years. These kids can not be without their dad for 12 years,” Valerie says.
Both men are stunned that their vacation may end in prison time.
“I never in a million years thought that something like this could happen,” Watson says.
The U.S. State Department issued a new warning for Americans to check their bags for ammunition or firearms before traveling to Turks and Caicos.
