The mother of a US Army soldier arrested in Russia after visiting a girlfriend tells Fox News Digital that if she could write a letter to her son, she would say 'I love you, I miss you , [and] I hope you can come home soon. »
Melody Jones speaks out as two weeks approach since Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was arrested by Russian authorities in Vladivostok, in the Far East. Black, 34, was charged with criminal misconduct and is accused of stealing from his girlfriend.
“I think he's worried about shaming us, and I would tell him in a letter, no, he's not,” Jones told Fox News Digital.
She added that the last Mother's Day without him was “very difficult” and that she was unaware of his current condition.
MOTHER OF DETAINED US SOLDIER SAYS HER RUSSIAN GIRLFRIEND DEMANDED MONEY BEFORE HIS ARREST
Gordon Black, a US soldier detained in Russia, poses for a selfie in this photo obtained from social media, in an unspecified location, published in February 2023. (Gordon Black via Facebook/Reuters)
“We don’t hear anything, it bothers me,” Jones said. “From what I understand, they couldn’t have seen it.”
“It would be nice to know that he's okay. You worry about these things, as a mom,” she also said.
A U.S. military spokesperson, when asked this week by Fox News Digital for more information on Black's situation, said “there are no new updates at this time.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson said last week that it was aware of Black's arrest and detention and that the department had not of higher priority than the safety and security of Americans abroad.
Black enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2008 and was assigned to U.S. Forces Korea's Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. He traveled to Vladivostok, Russia, “for personal reasons” before his arrest on May 2, the Pentagon said.
Mother of US soldier detained in Russia while visiting girlfriend believes he was 'framed'
A photo of US Army soldier Gordon Black sending a holiday message from Iraq in 2009. His wife said she was unaware of his trip to Russia and had hired a specialist lawyer for divorce in July 2022 to begin efforts to dissolve the marriage, her lawyer said. (United States Department of Defense)
The Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok said: “By choosing the preventive measure in the form of detention, the court came to the conclusion that American citizen B. (Black) — under the weight of the accusations — could hide from authorities responsible for the preliminary investigation. and for the court to avoid liability,” according to Reuters.
He reportedly added that Black would be detained until July 2 for “secret theft of citizen T.'s property, causing the latter significant damage.” Russian officials in Vladivostok said a 32-year-old woman had filed a complaint against Black.
Reuters cited the officials as saying the two met in South Korea before Black came to visit him in Russia, during which they were involved in an argument. She then allegedly filed a police report accusing him of stealing money and Black was taken into custody at a hotel.
“On April 10, Black left Eighth Army and signed a permanent change of station, en route to Texas,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said last Tuesday. “However, instead of returning to the United States, Black flew from Korea, via China, and then to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons.”
The military has opened an administrative investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of his trip, Singh noted, and part of the investigation will include examining the consequences of his actions.
The Russian port city of Vladivostok in September 2023. This is where an American soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, was arrested. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
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Jones previously told Fox News that his son's Russian girlfriend asked him for money shortly before his son was arrested for theft.
Fox News' Bailee Hill, Louis Casiano, Greg Wehner and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.