LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Ryan Corbett has been held captive by the Taliban for nearly a year and a half, suffering in a 9 foot by 9 foot cell.

For his father Drue Corbett, hobbies that were once a form of release no longer have meaning. He puts together violins, each one taking about a year to make. He was hopeful that by the time he was done with his latest project, he'd see his son again.

"When he didn't get out, I took this part here, and I put ebony black on that," Drue Corbett said as he showed the violin. "I'm like there's a dark spot, but in the end the dark spot's pretty beautiful."

The dark spot in his life is time spent waiting for the return of his son.

"It's awful," he said. "It's just awful."

Drue and his wife Evie are at a loss. Their son, Ryan Corbett, has been held hostage by the Taliban for nearly 18 months.

"A damp, cold prison cell down in basement, very little light, no heat," Drue said.

Ryan moved to Afghanistan with his wife Anna and their kids in 2010, starting a company to help Afghans start their own small businesses.

"Very, very different place, but you know, that's what he wanted," Drue explained. "His family wanted it, raised his kids there for 12 years, and it was kind of where they fit."

After rebuilding their lives and spending years there, Kabul fell to the Taliban. A worldwide story in 2021, the Corbetts had to flee the country with thousands of others.

"Yeah, you worry as a parent, but you also know the possibility of that kind of thing, and it was shocking realizing that his life would change at that point, to say nothing about now," Drue said.

Not wanting to leave the people he's helped behind, Ryan went back. His visa was approved the following year. It was on a trip in August 2022 that he was kidnapped by the Taliban.

"February 10th, it'll be 18 months," Drue said.

His family has not seen him since, and his wife has spoken to him just three times.

“We first feel bad for him, personally," Drue said. "He is suffering greatly in a 9 by 9 (foot) cell, often in solitude. Sometimes, in prison with five other guys. Poor nutrition, his health is breaking down, and that’s the urgency that we’re feeling now.”

They were never given a reason why Ryan was kidnapped, and were told to keep quiet for months.

Now, Ryan’s wife is doing everything she can to get him home. She’s testified before before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Even Congressman Morgan McGarvey is involved, working to pass a resolution to get Ryan home.

Ryan Corbett Family in DC.jpg

Ryan Corbett's family in Washington, D.C., pushing to get him home from nearly 18 months of being held hostage by the Taliban. (Family photo)

“First and foremost, I’m a dad, and to get that call from another dad who said my son is being held by the Taliban, locked up in a Taliban jail unlawfully, and he’s been there for 538 days, it just breaks your heart,” McGarvey, D-Louisville, said.

Those recent talks at the national level are now giving the Louisville parents hope. A sliver of light during a dark spot for this family.

"I think of Ryan’s dark spot right now, ultimately I think God is going to use it to beautify his life and maybe all of us,” Drue said.

The resolution to get Ryan home was sent to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which has a meeting scheduled for next week.

To read about the resolution, click here.

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