Paradise Prison: Chapter 1

Summary

---

Blood Trails – Paradise Prison: Chapter 1

Podcast: Blood Trails by MeatEater
Host: Jordan Sillars
Release Date: July 23, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In the gripping launch of the "Paradise Prison" mini-series, journalist Jordan Sillars investigates a chilling true crime saga from the hunting world: American tourists, mostly hunters and gun owners, entangled by strict ammunition laws in Turks and Caicos, leading to arrests, imprisonment, and international turmoil. Far beyond a simple legal mishap, the story exposes corruption, cruelty, and systemic abuse in a place famed for its laid-back tropical appeal. Through first-hand accounts, the episode explores what happens when outdoor adventures go horribly wrong—and how ordinary people fight back against impossible odds.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Inciting Incident: A Minor Mistake with Catastrophic Consequences

[00:08–00:59]

• Ryan Watson, an American hunter, visits Turks and Caicos for a celebratory 40th birthday trip with his wife Valerie and friends.
• “If you’re a hunter or sport shooter, you’ve likely found yourself in the same position. You get a stern talking to and lose your ammo. But that’s the extent of the penalty.” – Jordan Sillars [05:11]
• While departing, airport security finds four hunting cartridges hidden in the lining of Ryan’s duffel bag, overlooked from a previous hunting trip.

2. The Arrest: Confusion and Fear

[03:29–07:05]

• Chaos at the airport transforms into panic when air officials discover the ammo (“My wife was like, did you see what they got?...It is a small package of 6.5 Creedmoor reloads.” – Ryan Watson [04:46]).
• Security officials behave oddly—taking selfies with the ammo—which sets off alarm bells. Ryan and Valerie are escorted out, interrogated by police with no official identification, and taken away in an unmarked SUV.

3. Disbelief Turns to Dread

[08:30–09:51]

• Ryan and Valerie fear for their safety and children, acutely aware of their helplessness.
• “There was a lot revealed while we were there that made it seem like this was something that they were targeting. So we were caught in the middle of something much bigger.” – Valerie Watson [09:51]

4. Legality and Corruption: A System Stacked Against Outsiders

[09:51–15:33]

• Turks and Caicos recently implemented severe minimum sentences (12 years) for ammunition possession, purportedly to combat local gun violence, but the laws are applied nearly exclusively against American tourists.
• The official narrative of administrative justice unravels as first-hand testimonies reveal a pattern that feels like entrapment and exploitation.

5. Interrogation and Extortion: The Bail Dilemma

[17:45–26:41]

• At a bare office building, the Watsons are grilled, accused of being traffickers, and threatened with “12 years…starting today” (Sergeant Charles [22:10]).

• Offered a “weekend bail” if they can find a local to stake $10,000—impossible for tourists.

• Humanity shines through as Reuben, their vacation taxi driver, sacrifices by putting up his car title so they can stay out of jail until Monday.

  “Reuben is just the sweetest man of all times ... that’s the definition of doing it.” – Ryan Watson [25:21]

6. Fear and Anxiety: Living in Limbo

[26:41–27:20]

• The Watsons spend a sleepless weekend in anxious hiding, feeling like criminals, unsure if release is even possible.

7. Other Victims: Parallel Cases Expose a Pattern

[28:57–41:36]

• Brian Hagridge: Arrested in February 2024 for an unopened box of ammo found in a checked bag. Denied “weekend bail,” he spends eight terrifying nights in jail before release.

  “The look on his face when he found that ammo was literally like he just hit the jackpot...” – Brian Hagridge [31:28]

• Tyler Wenrich: On a cruise with friends, stopped by ship security for two forgotten 9mm bullets. Turned over to local police and left marooned as his ship sails away, he’s jailed in inhumane conditions.

  “All the cruise people are on the deck ... taunting ... they think it’s, you know, drug-related...” – Tyler Wenrich [46:36]

8. Prison Reality: Humanitarian Disaster

[50:50–52:59]

• Turks and Caicos’ only prison, condemned as “not fit for human habitation,” is notorious for violence, filth, overcrowding, and health risks, especially for women detainees.

  “The prison breached many of the UN minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners…” – Jordan Sillars [51:23]

9. Desperation & Strategy: The Fight for Survival and Family

[53:00–56:26]

• Ryan and Valerie, coached by attorney Oliver Smith, create a plan to take full blame onto Ryan so Valerie can go home. Their emotional struggle—confronting a system apparently intent on prolonging their ordeal—humanizes the story’s stakes.

  “Ryan’s biggest thing during that entire time was, please let the kids know that I am not a bad guy.” – Valerie Watson [59:23]

10. The Cruel Miracles and Final Heartbreaks

[56:26–59:45]

• Prosecutors drop charges against Valerie, but she is forbidden from saying goodbye to Ryan. She returns home wracked with guilt, fear, and relief, uncertain if her husband will ever join her.

  “...The moment I could feel those wheels lift off was the biggest sigh of relief, but also the biggest, like, feeling of grief that I’ve ever felt all at once.” – Valerie Watson [58:35]

11. International Attention, But No Answers

[59:45–62:00]

• All Americans involved receive dire warnings from the US Embassy: “You’re going to prison for 12 years.” The episode closes with pleas for help and a vow from the MeatEater team to accompany the children—if their fathers vanish into the system.

  "If we get locked up for 12 years, you have to take our boys hunting." – Ryan Watson [60:32] "100% promise right now. If it comes down to that...I'll personally take them all out hunting." – Steve Rinella [60:37]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the sense of threat and confusion:
  “I’m looking for, when do I start fighting? Do I start grabbing somebody or grabbing the wheel or hitting the emergency brake? ... this doesn't seem right.” — Ryan Watson [08:30]

• On the bizarre escalation from a simple mistake:
  "The look on his face when he found that ammo was literally like he just hit the jackpot for $50 million in the lottery.” — Brian Hagridge [31:28]

• On human kindness amid chaos:
  “Reuben takes us to the police station and puts up the title to his car. Talk about just good heart, man.” — Ryan Watson [25:21]

• On the broken justice system:
  “He says, you two don’t get it. You’re both going to prison for 12 years and it starts today.” — Sergeant Charles (Relayed by Ryan Watson) [22:10]

• On the personal impact:
  "My biggest thing was just making sure ... that the kids know that he was a good guy and he's not a bad person." — Valerie Watson [59:23]

• On systemic injustice:
  “They have truly implemented a 12 year minimum mandatory prison sentence for this offense. He said, buddy, you’re going to prison for 12 years.” — US Consular Official (Relayed by Ryan Watson) [39:08]

• On the emotional toll:
  “I let loose on an alcohol, and, man, you can just hear those cottonwoods shaking ... His eyeballs were about this big around ... hands down, the coolest moment I've ever had in the field.” — Ryan Watson [12:46]

• On a plea for the future:
  “If we get locked up for 12 years, you have to take our boys hunting.” — Ryan Watson [60:32]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:08–01:28] — Episode opening, dramatic setup
• [02:00–03:13] — Introduction to Ryan Watson & vacation story
• [03:29–07:10] — Airport incident, initial confrontation with Turks and Caicos officials
• [08:30–09:51] — The arrest and emotional impact
• [17:45–26:41] — Detainment, interrogation, and bail ordeal
• [28:57–41:46] — Introduction of other cases: Brian Hagridge & Tyler Wenrich
• [50:50–52:59] — Descriptions of prison conditions and legal backdrop
• [53:00–56:26] — Valerie’s fight to avoid prison, legal strategy
• [56:26–59:45] — Valerie’s release and emotional consequences
• [60:05–60:47] — The plea: a promise to care for their children if fathers aren't released

---

Tone & Style

The episode blends the clarity of investigative journalism with deep empathy for those caught up in an unyielding and unjust system. The stories unfold with suspense and humanity, capturing both the unique vulnerabilities of hunters and outdoorsmen abroad, and the universal terror of being powerless against a foreign bureaucracy. The conversational, sometimes raw, exchanges between host and guests make the stakes painfully real—and serve as both a warning and a call for compassion.

---

Next Episode Teaser

The saga is far from over. The host teases deeply disturbing developments in Part 2, including bomb threats, assassination attempts, and a harrowing account from an American who’d already become a cautionary example in Grand Turk’s notorious prison.

---

For listeners and non-listeners alike, this episode delivers a haunting reminder: the wildest dangers aren’t always found in the woods, but sometimes at the intersection of innocuous mistakes and broken bureaucracies far from home.

Transcript

[Jordan Sillers]

When an American hunter got caught with forgotten ammunition in a Caribbean airport, authorities told him it was a simple matter of the law. He'd broken it, and there would be consequences, no exceptions. But it wasn't simple. And it wasn't just the law. What he didn't know, what he couldn't have known standing in that terminal with his wife and friends, was that he'd stumbled into something much bigger than a few forgotten cartridges. There was corruption on that island. There was a prison the humanitarian commission said shouldn't exist. And when he started talking, there were consequences that had nothing to do with any courtroom. Some of those consequences echoed around the world. But others, the assaults, the cruelty, the extortion and the violence were hidden, forgotten or ignored. Until now. This is Paradise Prison, a three part Blood Trails miniseries that follows American hunters and gun owners who were trapped in Turks and Caicos in 2024. The story received international media attention and you might think you know what happened, but trust me when I say you don't know the half of it. That's next on Blood Trails.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Did you hear? Phelps has teamed up with a bunch of other high end brands to do the ultimate Elk D giveaway. Anyone who is 18 or older can sign up to win an amazing gear package that includes a new rifle or bow along with great supporting gear. The winner will pick their rifle package or archery package. For every $25 spent, you get 10 additional entries. The signups end July 26th at phelps game calls.com even the most dedicated hunters

[Jordan Sillers]

need a tropical vacation every once in a while. In April of 2024, Ryan Watson was planning exactly that. A relaxing getaway in the Caribbean with his wife and a few close friends.

[Ryan Watson]

I had two fraternity brothers from college. We were all turning 40 within a couple weeks of one another, and we had long talked about putting together a 40th birthday trip for like a couple's trip for us and our wives. At some point, one of our buddies had been to Turks and Caicos and he was really lobbying for us to all go to Turks and Caicos and we finally conceded just to make the trip happen.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan and his wife Valerie packed their bags, left their two young children with grandparents, and boarded a plane for the picturesque archipelago 600 miles southeast of Miami. When they arrived, everything went as smoothly as could be expected. Ryan even noticed that their bags had already been taken off the plane and were waiting for them on the carousel.

[Ryan Watson]

I thought, man, that's like first country I've ever flown into where they don't inspect your bags or do anything like that. And my buddy Trey makes a passing comment. He said, hey, man, it's the Caribbean Watson. Everybody's carefree here. And those words would continue to echo in my head.

[Jordan Sillers]

Airport officials didn't check those bags on the way in, but they did check them on the way out. After what Ryan says was a fun and, yes, carefree vacation, he, Valerie, and their friends made their way to the airport to board their flight back to Oklahoma.

[Ryan Watson]

When we pull up to the airport, kind of panic sets in, because the airport is a tiny airport, and the airport is just in chaos. I mean, there had apparently been several flights before us that had been delayed, and it was. Everybody was pushing and shoving and screaming at one another.

[Jordan Sillers]

The panic Ryan describes wasn't anything more than what you'd expect at a hot, crowded airport on a tiny island nation. But that was about to change. Ryan made it through the security line first, and as he turned to watch his wife and friends, he noticed that Valerie had been stopped by airport security. They were looking at one of their duffel bags, a bag they'd packed at the last minute to keep another suitcase from going over the weight limit.

[Ryan Watson]

So they go through tearing through this bag. They're looking for something, clearly. They take all my wife's items out of the duffel bag. They run all the items through the scanner individually. They're not satisfied. And we're all joking at this point. We think it's funny. I mean, you're with friends. Anytime TSA or the airport security is going through somebody's bag, everybody starts ribbing each other, and, oh, what are they gonna find?

[Jordan Sillers]

Eventually, they found something, But Ryan says they took it out of the bag so quickly, it was hard to tell exactly what.

[Ryan Watson]

And the lady just spun on a heel and walked right back over to the other security guards there, and she's showing it to him, and they're whispering. And my wife was like, did you see what they got? And I said, I didn't see it. The lady then walks over and holds it up, and I recognized it immediately. It is a small package of 6.5 Creedmoor reloads.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan had purchased that ammunition from a local gun shop in Oklahoma City. It isn't uncommon for local shops to sell reloaded ammunition, and Ryan had been using it to hunt deer for. For several seasons. Loose ammo in a small plastic bag isn't a great look for going through airport security, but Ryan expected to surrender it and get on his flight. If you're a hunter or sport shooter, you've likely found yourself in the Same position you get a stern talking to and lose your ammo. But that's the extent of the penalty.

[Ryan Watson]

So I'm negotiating, asking, hey, you know, can we just throw it in the trash? I'm so sorry. I just. A genuine, honest freak accident. We had no idea it was in there.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan tried to play it cool, but Valerie had a sinking feeling she couldn't quite explain.

[Valerie Watson]

I immediately looked at Ryan. I was like, what is that? I mean, it looked scary to me. They're big bullets, they're gold. And I am panicking. I mean, my heart sank to my stomach because I was like, I know you can't travel with ammunition. We know that. And I don't know how it got through multiple airports.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan says the airport officials weren't aggressive or accusatory, but they did say that Ryan and Valerie would have to talk to the police. And then they did something else.

[Ryan Watson]

The first little, like, weird sign that something might be askew was. She takes it over. And the two other ladies that are watching the X ray screen, they all three take a selfie. They hold it up and take a selfie with it. It was like a gripping grin. I was like, what is going on?

[Jordan Sillers]

20 minutes later, that uneasy feeling escalated to heart pounding concern.

[Ryan Watson]

A guy walks up to me. No words spoken, nothing. He just rips the boarding pass out of my hand. And he looks at it, he hands it back to me, and he says, I just want you to know you're not going to make that flight.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan still expected to be on the next flight, so he told his friends to go ahead and get on the plane.

[Ryan Watson]

My wife and I are escorted out of the airport. And about that time, a silver SUV comes screeching up to the curb. I mean, the bumper's hanging off of it. No markings, nothing on this car. And the man and a woman get out. Plain clothes, no badges, nothing, right? They walk up to us and they start interrogating us on the corner. Why do you have this? Are you licensed? I was like, we don't have to have a license to possess ammunition back in the States. Like, it was an accident. I'm a hunter. And next thing you know, they. They open the door to the car and they shove us in and they say, we're taking you with us. And then we're like, where to? And no badges have been shown. At this point, we're in the back of some beat up SUV, and I'm like, this doesn't seem right.

[Jordan Sillers]

30 minutes earlier, Ryan and Valerie were expecting to be in the air on the way back to their kids. Now they were stuck in the back of an unmarked SUV being driven away from the airport in a foreign country by two people who, for all they knew, could be gang members, extortionists, or something worse. All Ryan could think about was whether he should take matters into his own hands.

[Ryan Watson]

I'm looking for, when do I start fighting? Do I start grabbing somebody or grabbing the wheel or hitting the emergency brake? And I'm talking to them. They're not responding to me. So Val starts to share our location with the Dyers, who are now boarding their plane. And they say, okay, we're tracking you. We're going to keep an eye on you. We're getting on the plane now.

[Jordan Sillers]

As the Dyers took off, the Watsons lost the only allies they had on Turks and Caicos. They didn't know where they were being taken, what would happen when they got there, or even if they'd been officially arrested. All they knew was from the moment that security guard pulled those four cartridges from their bag, their lives had been turned upside down.

[Valerie Watson]

First thing I think of is our kids, because, you know, our kids are expecting us home. And I'm sitting here thinking, this cannot. This can't be real. There's no way that our kids are going to have to grow up without both parents. This is. This is not happening.

[Jordan Sillers]

But it was happening. And the Watsons weren't the only ones. Turks and Caicos had recently passed new restrictions ostensibly aimed at curbing gun related crime on the crime ridden islands. But along with drug runners and gun traffickers, these laws had also been used to target tourists, sportsmen, gun owners, and Ryan and Valerie would later learn, almost exclusively Americans.

[Valerie Watson]

It was so innocent, and I think the airport security there, I think they probably knew that it was an innocent thing. But there was a lot revealed while we were there that made it seem like this was something that they were targeting. So we were caught in the middle of something much bigger

[Jordan Sillers]

in this special Blood Trails miniseries. We're going on vacation. But not the fun kind. This is a tale of corruption, extortion, bomb threats, and assassination attempts just a few hundred miles from the American border. But it's also a story about perseverance, faith, sacrifice, and the kindness of strangers in a foreign land. At times, it sounds like a movie or the most surreal nightmare you've ever had, but it's all true. And the truth is, it could have happened to any of us. None of these Americans were gun smugglers. None of them even had criminal records. And yet each of them faced Decades behind bars in a prison that officials had deemed a human rights violation. How they got caught in that web of corruption and incompetence and how they tried to escape is what the next three episodes are all about. So find your passports and buckle your seatbelts. Things only get crazier from here. I'm Jordan Sillers, and this is Blood Trails. Paradise Prison Chapter 1, Part one Hunting Ammo When I asked Ryan where those four cartridges came from, he didn't hesitate. He'd been using the rounds in that bag to hunt a ranch owned by the family of his friend Tanner Dyer. Over 20 years earlier, Tanner had reached out to Ryan and offered to bring him hunting during an especially dark period in Ryan's life.

[Ryan Watson]

You know, my dad was unfortunately killed in a car accident when I was 19 years old in the fall of that year. And he, you know, just being a good friend, he'd reached out to me and he said, hey, man, I want you to come to our family's ranch. We're gonna go hunt. I want you to get your mind off things. And so went out there. They have an incredible ranch out in West Texas, and they just allowed me to go out there and sit with them, and I enjoyed that.

[Jordan Sillers]

That first bittersweet trip turned into an annual tradition. And over the last few years, Ryan has had the chance to take his son to the same ranch.

[Ryan Watson]

So probably my best time ever in the field was a hunt, probably two weeks before I was arrested.

[Jordan Sillers]

His son was nine years old at the time, and he was excited to chase his first gobbler. Ryan took him to a creek. He knew that that was lined with cottonwood trees. I finally.

[Ryan Watson]

I let loose on an alcohol, and, man, you can just hear those cottonwoods shaking and they're vibrating because there's so many toms that are shot gobbling up in the trees. And I look over, and my son was. His eyeballs were about this big around. And to watch that morning come alive. Some of those sunrises in West Texas are the most vivid shades of, like, pink and orange.

[Brian Hagridge]

It.

[Ryan Watson]

Watching that come up and watching those turkeys fly out of the roost and just put on a show and watch my son just in awe of it was, hands down, the coolest moment I've ever had in the field.

[Jordan Sillers]

Very few hunters have ever said this, but Ryan told me there were almost too many turkeys that morning.

[Ryan Watson]

You know, bless his heart, He. He couldn't look in one direction and interface on one direction. And I'd call the tom. There's probably two or three toms in. But one of them was dang near in his lap. And I was like, all right, buddy. Like, are you gonna pull the trigger? And he's like, dad, I don't know which one to. I don't know where to aim. I was like, buddy, if you pull a trigger right now, like, we're. We're harvesting something. I promise you that.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan's son wasn't able to pull the trigger on those gobblers. But later that morning, Ryan called in two jakes that were strutting along a fence line. They were clearly on the alert, so Ryan decided to draw their attention in a different direction while he instructed his son to sneak up on them.

[Ryan Watson]

I take off, and I'm watching over my shoulder, the corner of my eye, and I hear his little 410 ring out. And I turn around, and he's. He's nervous and shook in, and I. I kind of go running over there. And he's like, did I. Did I get. Did I get one? And I was like, get one. I was like, you just smoked two jakes with one shot, buddy.

[Jordan Sillers]

For the Watsons, hunting has always been a family affair. Ryan's father trained duck dogs and pointers, and the younger Watson recalls walking the fields at an early age.

[Ryan Watson]

I'd go out with them, walk fields, get to go on the annual pheasant hunt. I mean, as long as I could keep up. And then, you know, by lunch, I was probably sleeping in the truck.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan started hunting deer when he was 10 or 11, and he's hunted every year since. He said there were 20 cartridges in that bag when he bought it from the local shop, which means he fired 16. At least a few of them were used on a crazy, non typical whitetail that, in Ryan's words, had stories to tell.

[Ryan Watson]

I'm. I'm assuming this is the deer that I shot.

[Jordan Sillers]

Oh, wow.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

That.

[Ryan Watson]

When those bullets got left. But the coolest brow tines on a deer that I'd ever seen.

[Jordan Sillers]

Dude, that's crazy.

[Ryan Watson]

Yeah, he had some. He had some character.

[Brian Hagridge]

Yeah.

[Jordan Sillers]

That is so cool, man. I've never seen anything like that before.

[Ryan Watson]

Yeah, I had neither. I knew he was. I. I could see a lot of stuff going on.

[Valerie Watson]

Yeah.

[Ryan Watson]

And when I got him on the ground, I. I got up to him, and I was like, holy crap. I was like, this. This year has, like, some stories to tell.

[Jordan Sillers]

As it turned out, Ryan ended up with some stories of his own. But before we get to those, I know what you're thinking. How did those six. Five creedmoor cartridges end up in Ryan's bag.

[Ryan Watson]

That bag, which my wife and I had had for over 13 years, it was a wedding gift. It was a rolling duffel, so it had a hard bottom to the bag. But the lining of that bag, due to the wear and tear over the years, had begun to separate.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian told me that was the only bag they took to Turks and Caicos that had also been to the dyer's ranch. He thinks the bag of cartridges fell through the lining and wedged itself between the cushion of the bag and and the hard plastic bottom so you could

[Ryan Watson]

shake the bag all you wanted. It made no audible sounds. And so when they finally disassembled the bag and took the lining out and took the padding out, then they found the ammunition.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan freely admits that he made a mistake and should have checked his bag more carefully. Still, it's hard to blame the guy for not noticing something. It took airport officials multiple attempts to find with the help of an X ray machine. The problem was the same circumstances that made Ryan's mistake more understandable also made it more suspicious. It looked like Ryan had hidden questionably packaged rifle cartridges in the lining of his bag. That didn't sit well with officials, which became terrifyingly obvious during the Watson's first interrogation. Part two Weekend bail. Ryan and Valerie didn't have to wait long to find out where they were being taken, but that knowledge was small comfort.

[Ryan Watson]

I bet it was a 10 minute car ride to where they took us. We pull up, it's an empty white building. It's a two story building. I'm like, I don't see a police station sign anywhere here.

[Jordan Sillers]

The Watsons weren't in handcuffs, but they still hadn't seen a badge, a crest, or any indication that they were being detained or kidnapped by legitimate authorities. Even the vehicle they were riding in didn't seem official. As they pulled up to the unmarked building, Ryan tried to let himself out.

[Ryan Watson]

I go to reach for the handle and I grab a hold of the handle on the interior because I was going to let myself out. And the officer, who's a bigger guy, he grabs a hold of the handle from the outside and jerks it open. When that happens, I snap the handle from the inside of the car off. And so now this guy who already doesn't want to be my friend is like pissed. He grabs the handle, throws it in there, starts pushing me. The female officer gets Val out and we get pushed upstairs. Open the door. They open the door to this office building and it's empty. Like there's not a soul. And there's not a poster on the wall. There's nothing. And I'm like, we're gonna get robbed here. Like, we're murdered or they're gonna do something to Valerie.

[Jordan Sillers]

The Americans were hustled into a small room and told to sit down. Ryan told me he was still carrying the luggage with the four cartridges inside, and both he and Valerie had their cell phones.

[Ryan Watson]

About that time, the dyer start texting us, and they're like, are you sure that these are police officers? Because we tracked your location to this random building in the middle. Middle of nowhere. And I was like, I'm not sure. This is. This is sketchy at best.

[Jordan Sillers]

A few minutes later, the man and woman who had detained them walked into the room. But this time, they were carrying badges. They introduced themselves as Sergeant Charles and Officer Markland. This helped ease Ryan's mind, but as it turned out, kidnappers may have been easier to deal with.

[Ryan Watson]

And then the interrogation starts, and they lay into us heavy. Like, what were we doing? What criminal activities were we up to? How long have we been on the island? Who had we dealt with the whole time? I'm like, guys, we were here to celebrate my 40th birthday. They were convinced that we were drug runners or arms dealers of some sort. I'm like, guys, I'm a medical salesperson. My wife's a Christian school teacher. I'm a hunter. This is a. Just a terrible accident. I'm so sorry. They aren't. They're not backing down for nothing. And the interrogation at this point has gone on for probably an hour and a half, and they're getting pretty heated and getting up and putting, you know, pushing fingers in my face.

[Jordan Sillers]

The absurdity of these accusations should have been obvious. The Watsons were clearly not gun smugglers. And more importantly, they hadn't been caught trying to take ammunition into the country, and they'd been caught trying to take it out. If officials were so concerned about American tourists illegally importing ammunition, you'd think they'd check the bags on the way in. But when Ryan tried to argue this point to the officers across the table,

[Ryan Watson]

it didn't even register to them. I mean, I might as well have been speaking Mandarin because they. I mean, it did not have any impact or influence on our situation.

[Jordan Sillers]

Something else was going on here, something that went beyond regulating the possession of ammunition. These thoughts tickled the back of Ryan's brain. But in that moment, he had more pressing concerns.

[Ryan Watson]

I say, hey, guys, you promised me that I could phone my mother whenever we got to this station and they said, well, yes, but we're not going to allow you to call her yet. I said, well, I need to let her know, like, she has my children at the house. She's watching our children at home. And she needs to know that we're, we're delayed and we're going to be late getting home. And that's whenever Officer Charles or Sergeant Charles leans back in his chair and just with the biggest, you know, shit eating grin ever, starts laughing. He says, you two don't get it. You're both going to prison for 12 years and it starts today.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan guessed that this was an intimidation tactic, but the officers were clear that the couple was headed to jail to await their first hearing.

[Valerie Watson]

When they told us that they were going to take us to jail, that, I mean, I couldn't even fathom. I'm sitting here thinking, okay, I'm in a foreign country and I am about to be arrested and put in a jail. I mean, I have no idea other than the tourist areas of this country, like, what I'm getting into. And so I, I start crying. I'm very emotional. I'm thinking about our kids back home. I'm thinking about what in the world I'm about to embark upon.

[Ryan Watson]

Val is trying to collect herself and I'm trying my best to console her. At some point, Valerie makes the statement, neither one of us have been in any type of trouble before.

[Brian Hagridge]

Is

[Ryan Watson]

what I'm wearing okay to go to jail in Will I be cold? And as a husband man, that, like, just ignited something in front of me, inside of me. And I was like, I am not. This is not going to happen. And I stood up and up until that point, I'd been very compliant. Yes, sir, no, ma'. Am. As I was answering questions. And I was like, this has to stop right now. Like, my wife is not going to prison. I don't care what happens. I can promise you guys both one thing. It's not going to end with her being in a jail cell.

[Jordan Sillers]

The officers looked at each other and walked out of the room without saying anything. When they returned, they made the Watsons an offer that, if possible, made this situation even more surreal.

[Ryan Watson]

About that time, the two officers walked back in the room and they said, hey, we've thought about it. We, you know, we know you have kids at home. Real sad, real sad thing. So we're going to do our one

[Jordan Sillers]

good deed for the day.

[Ryan Watson]

If you can find a local, like a local Turk islander that is willing to put up an asset the equivalent of your bail. We'll let you out on what's called a weekend bail. And I was like, I have to find a local willing to put up an asset. Like, I'm a tourist, been here for five days. And these said, yep. He said, that's your one shot to get your affairs back at home in order. Otherwise you guys are going to jail, then on to prison.

[Jordan Sillers]

Throughout the interrogation, Ryan and Valerie had been texting with their friends back home, trying to get help. They had secured an attorney, but he hadn't arrived yet. When Ryan told his friend Trey about this latest development, Trey asked how valuable the asset had to be.

[Ryan Watson]

I was like, I have no idea. Like, they haven't told me anything. So I. I sneak peek my head back out the interrogation room door, and I'm like, hey, what's my bail? The guy like, kind of clicks his tongue. Let's call it 10 grand. Clearly making this up as he goes,

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan had no idea how he'd find a local willing to risk an asset worth 10,000American dollars. The only one he knew was a man named Ruben, the driver who'd been taxiing them around during their five day vacation. Trey figured that was their best shot, so he sent Reuben a text explaining the situation.

[Ryan Watson]

Reuben is just the sweetest man of all times. He sees this request from Trey come in and drops his customers off at their location, spins his car around and drives directly to the police station and puts up the title to his car. Talk about just good heart, man. That's the definition of doing it. I mean, we were passengers in his car at best, right?

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan and Valerie signed the bail paperwork and were forced to give up their passports. They were told they had to appear back at the police station on Monday. But thanks to Reuben, they had two days to find a hotel, get some sleep, and figure out what in the world was going on.

[Ryan Watson]

I had to book a hotel in front of them. They had to know my room number. They had to know everything right then, right then and there. So I write that all down for them. Reuben takes us to the hotel, drops us off. We get in and I mean, you feel like a fugitive on the run. You know, we're checking blinds, we're checking, we're double checking all the locks. And yeah, that's when we start phoning everybody we can back home. And it's just desperation pleas for help, can you please, please help us? We're in a situation.

[Valerie Watson]

And that weekend was a weekend full of anxiety. I mean, we were both just sick at our stomachs on Edge alert. I mean, every time we'd hear helicopters, we were. We felt like criminals. You know, we felt like people were watching us. We felt like people knew who we were and not in a good way. You know, we felt like the locals were looking at us and they had been maybe tipped off or told, and we felt like we were being watched. We just. I mean, we didn't want to go anywhere we couldn't eat. It was a horrible, horrible feeling not knowing our fate, not knowing if we would see our kids.

[Jordan Sillers]

As the Watsons ran through their address book looking for anyone who might be able to help, they soon discovered that they weren't as alone as they thought. Another American hunter had been detained for the same reason at the Turks and Caicos airport. But he didn't have good news. He'd already been on the island for two months, and he had no idea when or if he'd be allowed to leave. The hard truth was that there were larger forces at work on those small Caribbean islands, and it was anyone's guess whether those forces would release them or turn their lives upside down forever. That's next after the break.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

People like to act like the season is the finish line, but if you hunt hard, you know the work keeps going. You're still scouting, still adapting, still putting in early mornings and long days, especially late season when discipline is the difference. That's no off season, no shortcuts is the standard. First Light field wear is made for the work that happens long before opening day and continues long after the season ends. Purpose built, durable, designed for real use, it supports scouting, land, work, practice and prep, the work that earns the season. If you're still doing it the right way. Fieldwear matches that standard. Check out First Light's new fieldwear [e-mail] part three.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian?

[Brian Hagridge]

Yeah, I'll never forget it. It was February 13th, about 1:45 in the afternoon. Yeah, that day came, and it was essentially what I would call my doomsday.

[Jordan Sillers]

That's Brian Hagridge. Brian was 39 years old in 2024, and he lived with his wife and two kids in Western Pennsylvania.

[Brian Hagridge]

That was our fourth trip to Turks and Caicos. Beautiful island, beautiful water, great resort. You know, just the weather that time of year, just absolutely gorgeous. Just a place that we felt pretty comfortable at.

[Jordan Sillers]

They'd been there five days and he told me they didn't want to leave, but the kids had to get back to school, so they packed their bags, made it through security at the airport, and were waiting for their departure time.

[Brian Hagridge]

It's probably 45 minutes before our flight departs. We're about ready to start boarding. It's a small, smaller airport. No air conditioning, so it's.

[Tyler Wenrich]

It's hot.

[Brian Hagridge]

People are crammed in. You don't have a seat to sit. Sit in. And I heard my wife's name called over the PA Systems, Ashley Heggridge, please come to check in. And that's. That's odd, you know, whatever. Then they called it again. Honey, you need to go see what they need. You know, it's something with the kids or whatever. So she walks over, and they said, ma', am, we wanted to check your bag. And she said, okay, that's fine.

[Jordan Sillers]

The bag in question was a large duffel they'd used to carry pool accessories. It was too big to carry on the plane, so they checked it prior to going through security.

[Brian Hagridge]

And they're searching through this bag for, I don't know. It seemed like forever, but probably in reality, it was, I don't know, 10 minutes. And then all of a sudden, the security officer pulls out the box of 6.5prc. And I said, oh, yes, those. Those are mine. I'm sorry. Like, those are there from the last hunting trip.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian is a lifelong hunter. He lives in western pa, so he enjoys whitetail hunting, especially during the state's traditional muzzleloader season. But he also travels out west to chase mule deer and elk with his bow. He'd taken that particular box of 6.5 PRC cartridges as a backup. It was totally full in its original packaging and hadn't been opened. Like Ryan, Brian thought airport security would confiscate the box and he'd be on his way. He had even more reason to believe that, because in the US it's perfectly legal to transport packaged ammunition in a checked B. But as the guard lifted that ammo from the duffel, he knew right away he was in a world of trouble.

[Brian Hagridge]

The look on his face when he found that ammo was literally like he just hit the jackpot for $50 million in the lottery. Just priceless. Like, he held those up and was, like, waving them around to anybody that could see them in that area. And I'm thinking at that point, like, what on earth is going on here? And then all these people immediately just swarm in. And at that point, I knew, all right, this. This may not be as simple as, hey, just throw those in the trash. And before I know it, multiple police. And they said, you're going to jail. And I said, what do you mean I'm going to jail? Like, just Throw them out. I don't have a firearm. There's nothing here that, that can really do anything with this ammunition. And so they were very persistent that, you know, like, you're going right here and right now. And I said, well, I have a wife and two kids. Like, I need to at least, like, talk to them, let them know, hey, like, this is what's going on. And I had to literally plead with them for, I don't know, a few minutes. And finally they, they brought my wife, two kids over. They wouldn't let the kids inside the room. And I told her, what's going on. It was probably a 30 to 40 second conversation. And off I went.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian's wife was, as you can imagine, extremely upset. His two kids were three and five, so all they knew was that they were getting on the plane and for some reason dad wasn't there. Brian tried to reassure them that he'd be on the next flight, but as you've probably guessed, that didn't happen. He was taken to the same unmarked building as Ryan and Valerie, but for reasons that remain unclear, he wasn't given the option for Weekend Bailey. After he was processed and surrendered his passport, he went straight to jail.

[Brian Hagridge]

I've never seen the inside of a cell before, but this was not what I would expect or not what you see in the movies, you're basically placed into one holding cell. It's nothing separating you. And I think I had up to seven other individuals in there at one time. People on drug charges, murder, you name it. You're right there. You're literally sleeping a foot away on a blanket in a dark area that you have no clue what's going on.

[Jordan Sillers]

The next morning, a guard handed a cell phone through the bars and said Brian's wife was on the line, just

[Brian Hagridge]

like completely elated and, you know, had probably a minute or two to talk. But she said, hey, I've called every attorney on this island. This is the guy. Like, you need him, like, he's going to come meet with you later on today.

[Jordan Sillers]

This attorney's name was Oliver Smith, and he plays a big role not only in Brian's story, but in Ryan's as well. He arrived later that day around four in the afternoon and delivered some troubling news.

[Brian Hagridge]

Hallelujah, you're here. And he's a very, a man of very few words. Matter of fact, you know, you're going to be here for a while, but we'll work through this. And that's not very encouraging when you've been. Well, at that point it really was only a day. And I said, well, how long do you think I'll be here? It's like months. And when he said months, my heart just sank to the, the lowest of low places. You know, what I thought was, you know, maybe a day, a week, a month. And he says months. I knew it was very real that point.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian was discouraged by Oliver's assessment, but he was still hopeful he wouldn't have to spend those months in jail. He did eventually get bail, but thanks to some ill timed holidays, he spent more time behind bars than he ever would have hoped.

[Brian Hagridge]

I was stuck in that, that jail cell for, for eight nights. I mean you have no concept of time. I mean the only concept of time I truly had was literally when the janitor was, would come in in the morning and I mean I slept. I, I don't even know if it was 30 minutes every night. I mean it was very, very little, like sleep with one eye open. Just people coming in, you know, people they're picking up off the streets. You don't know who this guy is, what he's going to do. I mean, I was terrified.

[Jordan Sillers]

None of the other inmates harassed or threatened him, and Brian even befriended one of the guards who helped him understand more about his situation.

[Brian Hagridge]

But the conditions were just horrific. The bathroom, like you would go into a adjacent cell and they said, I'll just pee in this floor drain. And they dump some bleach onto their fabuloso every day. There was, I call it like an old gymnastics mat that had probably been used for the last 20 years. Blankets that were never washed, had holes all through them, no pillows, bugs, roaches everywhere, just completely disgusting.

[Jordan Sillers]

Brian spent those eight days and nights sitting by himself, wondering how in the world he ended up in a jail cell 1400 miles from home. He was finally able to wire the money to pay his bail and get out. But the news that awaited him on the outside was worse than he could have ever imagined.

[Brian Hagridge]

I quickly learned that, you know, to process ammunition there, that's, Everybody's just said 12 years, 12 years. And that just got ingrained into your head over and over again and it scares you to death.

[Jordan Sillers]

The prison sentence Sergeant Charles mentioned to Ryan, the one he thought was just a bluff, was all too real. In 2022, the Turks and Caicos House of Assembly increased the mandatory minimum prison sentence to 12 years for possession of firearms and ammunition. They did so, they claimed, to address a spike in gun related crime. Anyone found guilty of illegally possessing these prohibited items was in jeopardy, whether they were a hardened criminal or an American tourist. The law did allow judges to waive the mandatory minimum for what it described as exceptional circumstances. Brian's circumstances seemed to fit that description. He wasn't a criminal, and his cartridges posed no threat to the residents of Turks and Caicos. In fact, as he would later learn, officials weren't even able to find a gun on the island capable of test firing his 6,5 millimeter hunting rounds. It was also true that Americans had been caught with ammunition before, and many of these individuals had been given fines and allowed to return home. This should have been encouraging, but according to Brian, these more lenient sentences put him in a terrible position.

[Brian Hagridge]

A lot of the locals, you know, felt that they were unfairly treated because Americans were what they called slapped on the wrist, given a fine, and they returned home where these guys were going to jail for possessing a couple rounds of ammunition. So there was a very large outcry among their local population that, hey, you know, Americans should be in our jails for 12 years too.

[Jordan Sillers]

Around the same time Brian was arrested, a Turks and Caicos court of appeals was, was considering this issue. Brian's lawyer said they'd have to wait for that decision to come out before making their next move. So the hunter spent his first three lonely weeks on the island dreading what that court would decide.

[Brian Hagridge]

The ruling came out which that essentially said, hey, like, you can't just get a fine. Like, they have to all be handled alike. And I never forget that day either. When that that came out, my heart just sank because, I mean, it's just, it flat out said that there's jail time.

[Jordan Sillers]

When Ryan and Valerie were arrested about a month later, the US Embassy in the Bahamas told them the same thing.

[Ryan Watson]

One of the embassy consulars calls me back, says, hey, I heard that you got caught in this situation. We just learned of this about 30 minutes ago. Sorry for what you're going through, but I've got some bad news to tell you. Ryan, it is. The law just recently changed in the last couple months, and they have truly implemented a 12 year minimum mandatory prison sentence for this offense. He said, buddy, you're going to prison for 12 years.

[Valerie Watson]

I felt like I had just been punched in the gut. Whenever they said that, I was like, there's no way our kids are going to grow up for 12 years without a mom and a dad because of four bullets that were lodged in the lining of a bag.

[Brian Hagridge]

I'll never forget my wife's comment on Live Air with ABC that, you know, my husband's a great person. He Made an honest mistake. Are we going to let an honest mistake that has not harmed anyone determine the last 12 years of his life? My daughter at that point was ready to graduate kindergarten. So when you hear 12 years, I'll watch her graduate high school. Like that puts everything into perspective for a parent.

[Jordan Sillers]

After the break, another American gets trapped in Turks and Caicos and ends up in prison.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

When you build gear for law enforcement, you are not designing for a bluebird day. You're designing for adaptability under pressure and a kit that absolutely cannot fail you. That tactical pedigree is exactly what drives everything at FHF Gear. The chest rig is the single most adaptable multi use foundation FHF makes. It rides high and tight on your chest completely out of the mud and brush. On the front you've got a rugged molle panel to attach extra pouches and more molly on the underside of the bag to mount a sidearm holster right where it is most accessible. Inside, it's lined with velcro so you can configure it exactly how you want it, no matter the season. But the best part, FHF now builds purpose specific kits for turkey fishing and waterfowl. You get the chest rig in every single pound you need for your pursuit right out of the box. Toss a heavy pack right over the streamlined harness and you're ready for anything. Go to fhfgear.com and check out the chest rig build You'd Foundation

[Jordan Sillers]

Part 4. Marooned Brian was arrested on February 13, 2024, while Ryan and Valerie were taken in two months later on April 12. A week after that, their numbers grew.

[Tyler Wenrich]

Amanda mentally, it was not easy. When dad told me to get bail and we started going through that whole process, that's when it started to get even harder because you had this hope of getting out of this miserable place. And I think I don't know day like 10 that I was in there, I was just kind of a wreck, just ready to leave. Like, when is this gonna happen?

[Jordan Sillers]

That's Tyler Wenrich speaking about his time inside the same prison the other Americans were afraid of being locked inside for the next 12 years. How Tyler ended up in that hot, dirty mosquito infested concrete box will sound familiar, but also bizarrely different.

[Tyler Wenrich]

One of our best friends wanted to do a bachelor party for his for his wedding, so, and he wanted to do a cruise for that. So we were just stoked about having being able to go to this place that just looked super beautiful and, you know, was supposed to be a lot of fun.

[Jordan Sillers]

The royal Caribbean cruise took them to several of the 40 islands that make up the archipelago of Turks and caicos. On Saturday, April 20, the ship was scheduled to make a stop at one of those islands known as Grand Turk. Grand Turk is the nation's capital, but despite its name, it's not the largest island. That title goes to Providenciales, or Provo. Provo is home to all the touristy resorts as well as the airport where Ryan and Brian were arrested. Tyler and his friends disembark the cruise ship to explore Grand Turk and hang out on the beach. There was no security to get onto the island, but they had to put their bags through a scanner to get back on the ship.

[Tyler Wenrich]

And so I put my backpack through, and one of the security guards flags me and stops me. And he asks if it's my bag. And I told him it was. And he pulls. He kind of digs through one of the really small half moon pockets on the top, and he pulls out a 9 millimeter bullet. And so at that point, I kind of just kind of froze. And he puts it through the scanner again and digs through, pulls out another one.

[Jordan Sillers]

It's important to note here that this security checkpoint was on the ship, not the island. And the guard was not a government official. He worked for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. So he told Tyler that they'd have to search his room on the ship to make sure he didn't have any other prohibited items.

[Tyler Wenrich]

And they just kept saying the whole time that this is just routine. We're trying to make sure everybody's safe. And so we didn't really think it was super serious. We still kind of felt worried, but it was just because we weren't sure what to expect.

[Jordan Sillers]

Security officials didn't find any other weapons or ammunition, but the guard said he was required to notify local police. It's unclear whether this was actually true. The Royal Caribbean Health and Safety policy states that cruise personnel may contact local authorities if a guest's conduct threatens the health and safety of other passengers. But it also says the items can simply be confiscated, which, in the case of two 9 millimeter bullets, seems like a more appropriate response. But Tyler didn't have time to comb through Royal Caribbean policies. When he got back down to the pier, he saw four Turks and Caicos officers, two uniformed and two in plain clothes. They asked him a few questions, which Tyler answered as best he could. But as he glanced behind him towards the ship, he saw something that made his stomach drop.

[Tyler Wenrich]

There's two ramps, there's one in the front, and One in the back, and I see the back ramp kind of go up. And so at that point, I'm getting real concerned. And so I asked the officer in front of me if I was being arrested, and he didn't really say anything at first. And then I started to talk a little bit and told him about having a concealed carry permit back home. And one of the detectives in the back kind of perked up and kind of motioned to them that, that, like, yeah, okay, let's take him in.

[Jordan Sillers]

Rather than reassure the officers of Tyler's good character and proficiency with firearms, his concealed carry permit was instead further evidence of his guilt. Someone with a carry permit is more likely to own. Own nine millimeter bullets, even though at that point, Tyler wasn't sure how those cartridges ended up in his backpack.

[Tyler Wenrich]

But at that point, I think the. The last ramp had gone up and the boat was starting to leave already. So at that point, I'm kind of freaking out in my head and I'm trying to figure out how to tell somebody, because nobody knows what's going on.

[Jordan Sillers]

To add insult to injury, some of the other cruise passengers had caught wind of what was happening down on the pier.

[Tyler Wenrich]

All the cruise people are on the deck of the cruise ship, lined up, kind of taunting, and just, they don't know what's going on, so they think it's, you know, drug related or whatever. Like, oh, this guy got in trouble.

[Jordan Sillers]

Tyler called one of his friends on the ship, but he didn't make it down. Before the boat sailed away, he was

[Tyler Wenrich]

trying to rush down to help me, but at that point, the boat had already started to leave. And that's the last time I talked to him during the whole trip.

[Jordan Sillers]

Like the other Americans, Tyler had never been in trouble a day in his life. He worked as a paramedic and had earned his commercial pilot's license, both of which require a pretty clean record. And now here he was, alone in a foreign country, watching his ship sail away while he was hauled off to jail. It was, in a very real sense, like being marooned on a deserted island. The only silver lining was that unlike Tom Hanks in Castaway, Tyler could still call for help.

[Tyler Wenrich]

I got a text from Tyler, and it just simply said, dad, I've been arrested in Grand Turk. So that was. You know, you sit back and you kind of wonder, okay, is it a joke? It's not a good one, but what's going on?

[Brian Hagridge]

So it was very

[Tyler Wenrich]

nerve wracking right off the bat to try to figure out what's. What's Happening. Tyler, luckily, after he was brought off the ship, spoke with one of the officers who allowed him to use his phone to call me. And that was. That was when we found out what was really going on.

[Jordan Sillers]

That's Tyler's dad, Michael Wenrich. Tyler explained what was happening, and after learning more about the seriousness of his son's situation, Michael decided to fly down. It wasn't an easy decision. Michael's wife, Tyler's mother, was experiencing health problems, and Michael was afraid of leaving her at home by herself for who knows how long. But the Wenrichs are a tight family, and Mrs. Wenrich said her son would need somebody on the island to fight for him. Tyler also had a young wife and child who needed their husband and father to come home. Michael secured a lawyer on Grand Turk and flew down on Tuesday. In the meantime, Tyler spent a difficult four days locked in a jail cell in the same kind of conditions you heard Brian describe. When Michael walked into the police station and saw his son, he said both he and Tyler broke down.

[Tyler Wenrich]

That was an emotional time, a tough time, seeing your son, you know, imprisoned.

[Brian Hagridge]

Very difficult, very difficult.

[Tyler Wenrich]

If you knew Tyler, not just because he's my son, but he is the most upright, honest, by the books kind of guy you will ever meet. And to see him in that situation was super hard.

[Jordan Sillers]

Unfortunately, as their lawyer explained to them later that day, things weren't about to get any easier.

[Tyler Wenrich]

But she basically told me, there's another American that's in trouble like this. And she's like, they just changed the law to where the judges don't have discretion anymore. They have to. They have to at least give you a fine and time instead of just a fine or just time. So she basically was like, you're gonna go to prison. It's just a matter of how much time you're gonna go.

[Jordan Sillers]

In none of these cases did the Americans consider pleading not guilty. They were unlikely to have won, first of all, considering the evidence against them. But they'd also be stuck on the island for years awaiting trial. Instead, as Tyler's lawyer advised him, the best strategy was to put plead guilty and hope for as lenient of a sentence as possible. Given the certainty of prison time, Tyler made another tough call. If he went to prison right away, instead of making bail, he'd get credit for time served. When he was eventually sentenced, his lawyer agreed that that would be a way to expedite his time on the island.

[Tyler Wenrich]

Tyler, I don't know if I can get out and then go back in. You know that that whole mental like, back and forth. So I told her, I'm just gonna stay until we figure out what this is actually gonna mean.

[Jordan Sillers]

I should clarify here that, like in the US The Turks and Caicos legal system distinguishes between jail and prison. The jails are housed in local police stations, and they serve as temporary holding cells until a suspect makes bail. The prison, generally speaking, is for inmates who have been convicted and then sentenced to an extended stay behind bars. Turks and Caicos has one prison located on Grand Turk, and it's not a place you want to end up. In fact, just a year before Tyler was arrested, the Turks and Caicos Human Rights Commission said that the prison should be condemned. They said in a report that it's, quote, not fit for human habitation. It's wide open to the elements. Rain gets in the cells and soaks the mattresses and. And inmates are eaten by mosquitoes and sandflies. The sanitation conditions are atrocious, with many of the cells not having working toilets. They also noted high rates of violence and specifically mentioned one inmate who'd been hospitalized after being stabbed. They concluded that the prison breached many of the UN minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, as well as the majority of the core UN Human rights conventions. Unless something changed, this is where Brian, Ryan, Valerie, and Tyler were headed. And if their attorneys were right, they'd be there for over a decade. Tyler decided he might as well get a head start on his sentence. But once he got there, he realized he'd made a mistake. Whether he'd be able to get out was a question that, like everything else on the island, he didn't know how to answer. Part 5 Escape While Tyler was making his way to the Grand Turk prison, the Watsons were formulating a plan to get Valerie back home to their children. She'd been charged because while Ryan admitted the rifle cartridges were his, they'd been found in the bag Valerie was carrying. This seemed obviously unfair to them, but given the couple's experience with Turks and Caicos law enforcement, they weren't willing to rely on the common sense of the legal system. The night after their arrest, Ryan says they didn't sleep a wink.

[Ryan Watson]

My wife and I stay up all night, and at which point I tell her, I said, babe, I'm not going to let you go to prison. I said, we've got to get our story straight. And the story from here on out is that I was carrying the bag the whole time. We craft this story that we were trying to make room for two bottles of wine. We moved my wife's stuff into the duffel bag, which I was carrying the entire time just to make room for the heavier wine bottles. So we rehearsed the story all night long. And we had, we knew we had to get good at it. And I interrogated her for hours on end. My wife's as sweet as can be. She's the most genuine soul on the planet. And I knew that she couldn't lie, naturally. And so we, we rehearsed it just for. To all hours of the night.

[Jordan Sillers]

The next day, they met with their attorney, Oliver Smith, who agreed that the best way to secure Valerie's release was to shift all the blame onto Ryan when they were interrogated again on Monday.

[Ryan Watson]

He's like, demand to be interrogated first. I'm gonna send the officer a message telling him to interrogate you first. He said, so go in, get your interrogation done. Then Valerie's going to go in and just say, not my bag, not my bullets, not my bag, not my bullets.

[Valerie Watson]

It was like, they are going to try and get both of you. And if there's any slip up at all and they think that Valerie had something to do with it, they could very easily charge her too. And one of you needs to go home to your kids.

[Jordan Sillers]

The Watsons didn't know it at the time, but the stakes here were even higher than they realized. About a month after they were arrested, an American woman named Sharita Greer was taken into custody for having pistol ammunition in her purse. A US Congressman told me that because Turks and Caicos didn't have a facility for women, Sharita was handcuffed to a chair in the police station for three days. This incident became an important part of this story, and I'll explain why in a future episode. But it's safe to say, say that being detained in Turks and Caicos as a woman came with serious health and safety risks. So it was critical to get Valerie off the island as soon as possible. When Monday finally rolled around, Ryan was interviewed first and he stuck to his script. Then it was Valerie's turn.

[Ryan Watson]

They take Valerie back in the interrogation room. Oliver shows up just as they start Valerie's interrogation, and he goes, he disappears into the room with them. Probably 20 minutes later, Valerie comes out. She's with Oliver. Oliver's got a real defeated look on his face, and I'm like, what's going on? And he said, well, they're not sure if they're going to release her yet. I was like, what are you talking about? I just went in there and said, my bag, my bullets. Like, they have me on Video. He said, yeah, but they're, they're going to make a pass at trying to get charges to stick on both of you.

[Jordan Sillers]

The Watsons had to re up their bail, so they called Reuben, who once again put up his car title as surety so the couple didn't have to go to jail. Ryan and Valerie don't know exactly what transpired in government offices over the next week. They don't know whether prosecutors were truly seeking to send Valerie to prison or were just trying to make the American sweat. Whatever the reason, the next Monday, they received the first good news since being arrested at the airport. But it came with a different kind of heartbreak.

[Valerie Watson]

That next Monday, they dropped all, all charges against me. They pulled me in first, actually, and it was pretty quick. And I remember feeling, I mean, again, I hadn't probably eaten anything. I think I lost £14 in a week. And I've just been sick, like, non stop. And I remember, you know, thinking, I can't believe that I'm going home. And then they told me, do not make eye contact. Don't say anything to Ryan. You are not allowed, you know, you are not to say goodbye, you're not to speak to him. And so, again, being the rule follower that I am and terrified, like, I don't want to make things worse on him because I know if they're letting me go, they're going to charge him with something. And so I do what I'm told. And, you know, later, Ryan and I were able to talk about that moment, and he was like, what bothered me is that you didn't even look at me. You didn't say anything. And that just broke my heart because I love him and I wanted to just hug him and not let him go.

[Jordan Sillers]

We don't know why police officers added this layer of cruelty atop an already unbearable situation. They told Ryan the same thing, but he figured since they were already threatening him with 12 years behind bars, he was willing to take the risk and say goodbye to his wife.

[Ryan Watson]

And so they said, hey, don't, don't speak to her. Don't, don't look at her.

[Jordan Sillers]

Don't do nothing.

[Ryan Watson]

We're making it way worse on you. They're shoving me through the lobby. I stopped. I turned to Valerie. I was like, I love you. And next thing you know, I get shoved from behind and they take me off, put me in a. Take me to a different location. They put me in a. A cell. I'm by myself. Tiny cell, steel door, no electricity. There's no lights, there's no Nothing.

[Brian Hagridge]

It's dark.

[Ryan Watson]

It's pitch black in there. You know, at that point on, it's Prisoner Watson this, it's Prisoner Watson that. I'm Prisoner Watson.

[Jordan Sillers]

It took officials longer than Valerie would have liked to get her passport, but she soon found herself back in the same airport where this nightmare began.

[Valerie Watson]

I mean, the amount of, like, anxiety and I thought I was going to just be sick, like, right there in the airport. I mean, I did. I did not want to go through. I was terrified the entire time that they were going to find something or find another thing, depend on me to keep me there longer. And so the moment that we started driving, taxiing, and then the moment I could feel those wheels lift off was the biggest sigh of relief, but also the biggest, like, feeling of grief that I've ever felt all at once. Because now I'm officially leaving Ryan behind, but I'm also on my way back to see my kids.

[Jordan Sillers]

She couldn't wait to see her kids, but she also knew she'd be having some difficult, confusing conversations.

[Valerie Watson]

Ryan's biggest thing during that entire time was, please let the kids know that I am not a bad guy. I am not a bad person. This was an innocent mistake, and it's because of my hobby, you know, that we're in this situation. But his biggest thing was just making sure that I conveyed that to the kids, that he was a good guy and he's not a bad person.

[Jordan Sillers]

Ryan says getting home to his family is what kept him fighting through the misery that followed. But he also had to face the reality that. That he might not make it back to Oklahoma for a long, long time. When he and Brian spoke with Meat Eater founder Steve Rinella In 2024, the Hunters had one simple request.

[Ryan Watson]

I just want to be home, like, with your kids. Like, I don't. I'd give it all right now. I promise. I don't know what's in there, but I check to whoever for it so that we all three can go home.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I'd like to see you guys come home. Like I said, it just. It really. I mean, I got empathy for you, but also just an awareness of how something like this could happen to anyone. We're all going to be watching.

[Ryan Watson]

You have to make me a promise on air.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I will record.

[Brian Hagridge]

This goes for both of us, by the way.

[Ryan Watson]

Okay? If we get locked up for 12 years, you have to take our boys hunting.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

100% promise right now. If it comes down to that, don't worry, I'll. I will personally take them all out hunting. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

[Brian Hagridge]

Yes, sir.

[Tyler Wenrich]

Yeah.

[Brian Hagridge]

Appreciate the time.

[Jordan Sillers]

You guys take care.

[Ryan Watson]

You, too.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Best of luck.

[Jordan Sillers]

With Valerie safely on her way stateside, the remaining Americans began the fight in earnest. But they quickly realized that the Turks and Caicos government was deadly serious. Their threats of prison time weren't a bluff, a scare tactic to make tourists check their luggage more carefully. Because the terrifying truth was an American named Michael Grimm had already spent serious time behind bars in Grand Turk Prison and for exactly the same offense as Brian Ryan and Tyler. The judge at the time had said that he sent Michael to prison to make an example of him, to send a message to future offenders. Well, now those future offenders were here, the legal system was dead set on sending another message, not just to American hunters and gun owners, but to the entire world. Michael's harrowing account of his time in Grand Turk prison and how the other Americans sought help from the State Department is next week on Blood Trails.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Did you hear? Phelps has teamed up with a bunch of other high end brands to do the ultimate elk giveaway. Anyone who is 18 or older can sign up to win an amazing gear package that includes a new rifle or bow along with great supporting gear. The winner will pick their rifle package or archery package. For every 25 spent, you get 10 additional entries. The signups end July 26th at phelpsgame calls dot com.