ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Ryan Corbett was reunited with his family early Wednesday morning in San, Antonio, Texas, where he touched U.S. soil for the first time after spending nearly 900 days in Taliban custody. He’s taking time to recover and reunite with his family down south before returning to where he grew up in Dansville in Livingston County.

“I met the Corbetts when I became a pastor here 15 years ago," Pastor David Theobald said. "Ryan's father was the previous pastor here. And when he had to retire in 2009 for health reasons, he began the process of finding the next pastor. And somehow he got my name."


What You Need To Know

  • Ryan Corbett was released after being detained by the Taliban for 894 days. He returned to the U.S. in San Antonio, Texas in the early hours of Jan. 22.

  • Corbett's wife says she relied heavily on her children, her team and her prayers for help advocating for his immediate release

  • Pastor David Theobald says his family has been just as much of a blessing to the church community, as he hopes they have been to the Corbetts

  • He says he looks forward to starting this season of celebration with the Corbetts after giving them time to heal and reunite when they're ready

Theobald has known Corbett for years. He says his parents and siblings are just as committed people as him.

“Ryan has two sisters," he said. "All three of the Corbett children are are just gems. You get the feeling right away that you're in the presence of someone that's just a real serious, committed person.”

Theobald was among the few in the town to know when Corbett was first taken by the Taliban on Aug. 10, 2022.

“We had been walking with them through it for a year before they did that," he said. "And so that was not a surprise to us. But the new strategy was, in some sense, it was freeing for us because we also had to kind of keep everything mum. But at that point, when it was being made public, we could speak more freely about it. And so there was a certain excitement and freedom that came with that. It was a huge responsibility to be among the few people, relatively few people that knew what was going on. It was intimidating. And so we considered it a mission from God.”

He recalls the first time learning of Corbett’s detention as “scary,” but he was assured his strength would get him home.

For months, the family fought in silence, only finding peace in the Grace Baptist Church community.

“It's just this idea of how Anna and the kids have served this church in the midst of this whole trial that we thought to be a blessing to them," Theobald said. "But they've been a real source of blessing and encouragement to us."

He explains that all of Corbett’s children are a part of the church’s worship team, singing or playing interments at mass and helping in the sound booth. The kids have also created youth groups of their peers and Corbett’s wife, Anna, has not only played but taught violin for other church members.

“We believe that God is in control of all of these things and that it was his timing," Theobald said. "It was his providence that brought them into our congregation at this time. And so we felt a huge responsibility towards them, under God, to be a blessing to them."

Thoebald was also among the few to get the call from Corbett’s wife that he would be coming home. He says he could hear her smile through the phone.

“It was beaming through the phone," he said. "And to be honest with you, it was not an articulate conversation on my part. I was just overwhelmed. I was trying to find words. I was trying not to ball like a baby. I also realized that she had probably lots more phone calls like that to me. So it was a very quick exchange. But I just rejoiced with her. And it was the culmination of all that we've been praying for and working towards for two and a half years. So just overwhelmed with joy and praise.”

In a statement, the Corbetts have shared their overwhelming joy to reunite with their husband and father. They also asked for time for him to heal and recover as a family. That’s just what their pastor plans on doing.

“Our position is to just give them all of the space that they need, as a family, to enjoy each other's company," he said. "They've got lots of time to make up. And we expect that that will happen naturally and smoothly and quickly. And yet we don't want to interfere in that in any way. We're standing by, ready to serve them in whatever way that we can, even as simply as having their house ready for them clean and warm and ready to be re-inhabited as soon as they get back and then just embracing them slowly back into the life of this church [by] offering counseling and encouragement and whatever help they need. We’re ready to give it.”