Father, 31, arrested in Turks and Caicos after security found ammo in his bag during cruise ship stop breaks his silence about nightmare in hellhole jail

The American tourist facing a decade behind bars in Turks and Caicos after ammunition was found in his luggage as he got on a cruise ship has finally spoken out. 

Tyler Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 after the bullets were discovered at a security checkpoint, leading to his arrest by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.

Wenrich - the second American arrested for this offense in recent weeks after Oklahoma father-of-two Ryan Watson was charged - has found the predicament as awful as one might expect.

'I can almost not wrap my head around it still, and I'm living in it. You know, it's hard to. It's hard to believe that it's happening. And it's definitely a nightmare,' he said.

Wenrich - a paramedic from Virginia with a wife and year-and-a-half-old son - has remained on Grand Turk Island for the past two weeks after two 9mm rounds were found in his bag as he tried to get back on the cruise following a beach day. 

Tyler Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 after the bullets were discovered at a security checkpoint, leading to his arrest by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force

Wenrich - a paramedic from Virginia with a wife and year-and-a-half-old son - has remained on Grand Turk Island for the past two weeks after two 9mm rounds were found in his bag as he tried to get back on the cruise following a beach day

He claims it was just an honest mistake, one he thought he'd prepared enough to avoid. 

'I've used that bag to go to the shooting range with friends and to carry my firearm in the past,' Wenrich told NBC Boston.

'So it was, you know, I checked it before I left, and it was just a complete oversight on me, TSA, and the port security, you know. Three groups missed that ammunition,' he added.

He posted bail last week ahead of a court hearing after being turned over to authorities in Turks and Caicos. 

Wenrich then spent three nights in jail before being moved to a prison for nine more.

'It was extremely difficult,' he said. 'The conditions were difficult but the people were more phenomenal, which helped.'

Royal Caribbean has not commented on the incident.

'It was still a very it was a very hard situation to be in,' Wenrich said. 'It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.'

Wenrich claims it was just an honest mistake, one he thought he'd prepared enough to avoid

Wenrich then spent three nights in jail before being moved to a prison for nine more

Wenrich said that he, his wife Jeriann, a dental hygienist and son are struggling being apart. 

'They're not doing great. You know, my son's having trouble sleeping that night… something's wrong,' shared Wenrich. 

'He's old enough to know there's something wrong and my wife is trying to do the best she can.'

Wenrich's father has joined him on the island while he remains stuck in the legal system, which has cost him, in his words, tens of thousands of dollars. 

The family is attempting to raise $100,000 on Gofundme to cover all the bills. 

His case appears to have been triggered by similar circumstances to Watson's arrest.

Watson was arrested on April 11 after a dream 40th birthday vacation with friends quickly turned into a nightmare as four loose hunting bullets were found on his carry-on luggage on his departing flight. 

The crime used to only carry a small fine, however Turks and Caicos lawmakers escalated the penalties in 2022 to mandate a 12-year minimum sentence. 

Wenrich said that he, his wife Jeriann, a dental hygienist and son are struggling being apart

'They're not doing great. You know, my son's having trouble sleeping that night… something's wrong,' shared Wenrich

The surge in recent arrests also comes despite a warning sent out by US travel officials in 2023 in response to the updated law, alerting Americans to double check their luggage for loose bullets or firearms. 

In an interview with the Today Show, Ryan said he 'can't set any kind of expectations on when I can be home to those kids', as he described his ordeal as 'the most awful thing I have ever lived through.' 

He said getting back to his children is 'and always will be, my ultimate goal.' 

Ryan said officials brushed off his pleas that it was a 'complete innocent mistake', amid questions as to how the bullets slipped past TSA on his departing flight from Oklahoma's Will Rogers World Airport.

Officials said they have launched a 'review' of the airport's screeners in response.  

'TSA is conducting a review at OKC, which was the originating airport,' TSA said in a statement, adding that it is 'aware' of the slip-up.

However, several investigations in recent years have uncovered a shocking lapse in TSA screening effectiveness, with undercover agents from Homeland Security easily slipping banned objects past screeners.

In 2017, ABC News reported that undercover agents found safety equipment or procedures failed over half the time, with a source revealing that the 'ballpark' failure rate was more like 80 percent.

Ryan Watson (pictured with his wife Valerie and their two young children) is facing 12 years in prison in Turks and Caicos after a handful of deer hunting bullets were found in his luggage

A previous investigation in 2006 also found that fake bombs slipped past TSA screeners 75 percent of the time at Los Angeles International Airport and 60 percent of the time at Chicago O'Hare, reported USA Today. 

Despite their insistence that the ammunition was accidentally left from a previous hunting trip, Turks and Caicos prosecutors maintained that the crime is a serious offense in the nation. 

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the couple with the costs, which at the time of writing had exceeded $226,000.