A Fort Worth woman and her two children are coping with a new reality after her husband was detained in Turks and Caicos following the discovery of ammunition in his carry-on bag.
Ryan and Valerie Watson, who now live in Oklahoma, left for the Turks and Caicos Islands on April 7 to celebrate Ryan and two friends' 40th birthdays. They were returning from vacation when the incident occurred.
When the couple went through security for their flight, their carry-on was flagged and searched. Officials then found a Ziploc bag with four bullets.
According to Valerie, the bullets were mistakenly still in the bag after her husband had been hunting the weekend before.
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The Watsons were questioned and charged with possession of ammunition. Valerie was released, and her charges were dropped after she had been detained on the island for days.
NBC 5's Meredith Land spoke with Watson on Wednesday about how her kids, ages 7 and 9, were coping with their father's absence.
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"This is just our reality. So I've been honest in the best way as a mom to young kids to explain what is happening," said Watson.
"They knew that Daddy was in jail because we talked to them about their emotions, watching them try to handle their big emotions. Yesterday was really difficult for me."
In Turks and Caicos, carrying ammunition is a serious offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in prison. In September 2023, the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a travel alert warning Americans after a tourist from Indiana got an eight-month prison sentence for possession of ammunition.
"When you realize what it was, in the back of my mind, I was thinking it was me, and that I had too much liquid or my perfume bottle was too big or something. And they showed us what it was, and immediately, my heart just sank and I had a pit in my stomach. We are in a foreign country, and I don't know what their rules and laws are," she said.
"I have a lot of help because I know that this is part of God's plan for us," said Watson.
The wife and mother also revealed that two U.S. senators from Oklahoma and the governor are writing "good character" letters on her husband's behalf, but there are no guarantees. The family is now waiting for the situation to be resolved.
