Travis King.Photo:Facebook/Travis King
Facebook/Travis King
The mother ofthe American soldier who was detained in North Koreaafter crossing into the country from South Korea says she wants her son to come home.
Pvt. Travis King is in North Korean custody after United Nations Command officialsannounced on Tuesdaythat he had run across the border “without authorization” this week. His mother, Claudine Gates, toldWISN 12 Newsto ask people to pray for her son’s quick and safe return.
“I just want my son back. I just want my son back,” Gates told reporters from the outlet outside her home in Racine, Wisconsin on Wednesday. “Get my son home. Get my son home and pray, pray that he comes back,” she said.
Earlier this week Gates spoke to ABC News about her son illegally crossing into North Korea, telling the outlet “I can’t see Travis doing anything like that.” She added that she had spoken to her son “a few days ago,” at which point he told her he would soon be returning to the U.S. base in Fort Bliss.
Gates is among other relatives ofthe American soldier who are now struggling to understand what made him run across the border.
South Korean and U.S. Army soldiers stand in the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas.AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
Speaking to the Associated Press on Wednesday, King’s maternal grandfather, Carl Gates, said, “I can’t see him doing that intentionally if he was in his right mind. Travis is a good guy. He wouldn’t do nothing to hurt nobody. And I can’t see him trying to hurt himself."
Myron Gates, King’s uncle, echoed the confusion, telling the AP: “I don’t understand why he would do that, because it seemed like he was on his way back here to the United States. He was on his way home.” King’s grandfather described him to the AP as “a nice, quiet guy,” adding: “He doesn’t bother anybody. He keeps to himself."
King graduated from Park High School in Racine in 2020, School officials confirmed toWISN 12 Newson Wednesday.
Various South Korean media outlets and theAssociated Pressreport that King was scheduled to fly back to the U.S. after being imprisoned in South Korea for two months following assault charges stemming from an alleged physical altercation at a nightclub last September.
The AP reports that King was released from the South Korean prison on July 10 and was set to head to the U.S. to face further military disciplinary action (and, potentially, discharge from the Army).
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That’s when King left the tour group and ran across the border into North Korea, according to reports.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday that officials are “very early” in the process of determining what, exactly, happened, and that “there’s a lot that we’re still trying to learn.”
source: people.com
