HAMPTON, Va. — A Hampton Roads family says a local father is unable to leave Bahrain after airstrikes there led to flight cancellations and tightened travel restrictions.
The man traveled overseas in late February for work tied to a U.S. Navy contract. His family asked News 3 not to identify him publicly due to safety concerns.
His son, Seth D., who lives in Hampton and shares a home with his father, said he’s been relying on short text messages to know his dad is safe.
“Communication-wise, I’ve basically been trying to text him at least once every morning,” Seth said. “Sometimes throughout the day, he’ll respond … just giving me an update.”
At first, Seth said his father told him flights were canceled.
“I thought maybe something happened with the planes,” he said.
Then came another message.
“He said there were bombings, and I kind of had to just sit there for like two minutes registering that in my mind, because it really shook me,” Seth said. He later learned his father had been moved into a shelter.
The family says his ability to exit the country is now severely restricted. They say he does not have the authority or resources to navigate the legal and diplomatic systems needed to arrange a safe return, and that efforts to resolve the situation through available channels have so far been unsuccessful.
The uncertainty has taken an emotional toll.
“I’m definitely pretty shaken and nervous,” Seth said. “When I saw him leave, I didn’t think that might be the last time I ever get to see him.”
Each response from his father, he said, brings immediate relief.
“It’s like instant relief — like, ‘OK, he survived another day. We just gotta keep going.’”
Seth described his father as someone he deeply admires.
“He is what I want to become, basically, in every sense of the word,” he said. “He’s smart, he’s levelheaded, and he gets what needs to be done, done.”
For now, Seth said he’s taking things one day at a time.
“I’m just praying to any God out there that he’s OK,” he said.
News 3 will continue to follow developments and update this story as more information becomes available.
