Sen. Klobuchar says Minnesota man freed by Russian after fleeing Ukraine

March 26 (UPI) -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Saturday that Minnesota man Tyler Jacob has been freed from custody after he was detained by Russian forces while leaving Ukraine.

"Tyler Jacob of Winona, MN is safe. A teacher in Ukraine, he was detained at a Russian checkpoint while trying to leave the country," Klobuchar said in a statement.

"Thanks to his parents Tina and John for never giving up, and our State Department and U.S. Ambassador in Moscow Sullivan who spoke with me and directly helped."

Jacob, 28, had been working as an English teacher in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson when the war broke out, according to his Facebook page.

He had traveled to the country in November to meet his longtime girlfriend, whom he married in January, and her daughter, according to a GoFundMe started by his family to support him after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When the war broke out, Jacob had been sheltering with his family in Ukraine before ultimately deciding to leave the region through a chartered flight to Turkey, he told Russian video service Ruptly on March 13.

After he was filmed in that video, Jacob was detained for 10 days in a jail in Crimea -- the region of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014. Klobuchar said he has since been reunited with his wife and daughter.

"I am so ecstatic that Tyler is safe. This has been a harrowing experience, and I am so grateful to the officials in the State Department and embassy who helped us locate Tyler and get him out of Russia," his mother, Tina Hauser, said in a statement.

"I am especially grateful to Senator Klobuchar for her steadfast support through this whole process. This was a parent's worst nightmare, but I can rest easy tonight knowing my son has made it to safety."

John Quinn, Tyler's father, called it "the most terrorizing experience as a parent."

"I've also seen and felt the good in so many people. I am grateful that Tyler, his wife, and their daughter are in a safe place," Quinn said.

"Many thanks to Amy Klobuchar and her staff for day and night attention to getting Tyler to safety. My heart goes out to the many families that are still enduring the horror in Ukraine."