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Houston missionary who was captured by Russians in Ukraine returns home

Terry Gateley, 63, was working at a Ukrainian orphanage for disabled and underprivileged kids since last year.

HOUSTON — A Houston man who was working as a missionary in Ukraine is back home after spending over a week in Russian captivity.

Terry Gateley, 63, was working at a Ukrainian orphanage for disabled and underprivileged kids since last year. In early July, Russian intelligence services grabbed him off the street.

Now that he's back home, Gateley says he's, "doing a lot better now."

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He spent a few days in New York and in Tampa after arriving back in the states on July 15, one year after he first traveled to Ukraine for humanitarian work.

Before his return to the U.S., he was in Russian captivity after he had been working in the Kherson region of Ukraine. An organization called Project Dynamo rescued him after they say he spent eight days being tortured both mentally and physically.

The Kherson region has been under Russian occupation and Gateley said he was taken right off of a bus and imprisoned.

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He said he was kept awake for days at a time and nails were hidden in his food. Gateley told KHOU 11 that he's still acclimating after such a traumatic experience, but he's grateful he's still alive.

“When someone rescues you like from the situation I was in, which was for sure death, it just brings you back to life," he said. "I don’t know what else to say. It’s a good feeling, for real.”

The organization that rescued him says they've rescued nearly 4,000 people from mostly war-torn areas.

The mission to bring Gateley back was code-named "Rio Grande," and thankfully, he's back home tonight.

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