Taxi Ride Led to Months in Asian Prison for US Tourist

Stacey Addison has finally been released
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 25, 2014 3:33 PM CST
Taxi Ride Led to Months in Asian Prison for US Tourist
This undated photo provided by Bernadette Kero shows Stacey Addison, 41, who was detained by police in East Timor in Sept. 2014.   (AP Photo/Courtesy Bernadette Kero)

A US traveler detained for months in East Timor has been released from prison. Stacey Addison, 41, of Portland was arrested in September shortly after crossing the border into the Southeast Asia nation. The veterinarian was sharing a taxi with a stranger who asked the driver to stop the car so he could pick up a package. Police stopped the vehicle, determined the package contained methamphetamine, and took everybody to the station. Addison was released from jail after a few days, but was ordered to remain in East Timor during the investigation. Then, in October, a prosecutor persuaded a court to rescind Addison's conditional release and she was taken to a women's prison despite not being charged with a crime.

Addison's mother, Bernadette Kero of Klamath Falls, Oregon, said in a phone interview she is "tremendously relieved," and will be even more so when her daughter gets her passport returned. For now, Addison is staying at the guest house of former President Jose Ramos-Horta. Kero said she spoke with Stacey twice on Christmas Eve, and her daughter, though obviously happy, was still in some disbelief over the whole situation. "I anticipated it not being a very good Christmas," Kero said. "And this is just the best Christmas present, other than her actually coming home." Addison has been traveling the world since January 2013, starting in Antarctica. Kero said her daughter has always loved to travel, and saved her money and sold her home in preparation for the lengthy trip. (More East Timor stories.)

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