Mom of Tyler Jacob, American Teacher Held Hostage by Russians in Ukraine, Speaks Out: 'I Don't Sleep'

"I’m just clinging to my phone hoping that I’ll get a message from him saying, ‘Hey mom, I’m here,’” Tina Hauser tells Inside Edition. Her 28-year-old son was taken prisoner as he tried to flee the war-torn country.

The Russians are holding an American teacher hostage in Ukraine. Tyler Jacob, 28, of Winona, Minnesota, was taken prisoner as he tried to flee the war-torn country.

His mom, Tina Hauser, is appealing for his release.

“I am beyond terrified. It is a mother’s worst nightmare coming true. I don’t sleep, and I’m just clinging to my phone hoping that I’ll get a message from him saying, ‘Hey mom, I’m here,’” Hauser said.

It’s not known where Jacob is being held. Hauser says she last spoke to her son early Saturday morning.

“He was very scared. I could hear the scared and the fear in his voice,” Hauser said. 

Another American, 67-year-old psychologist James Hill of Idaho, has been confirmed killed. The professor had been teaching at a college in Kyiv and was trapped inside a hospital in the city of Chernihiv. 

In final Facebook posts, Hill wrote: “It's a living nightmare...Bombing has intensified. No way out.”

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