A Canadian man and his family are flying to Toronto after being freed during a high-stakes rescue operation in Pakistan earlier this week.
Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three children - who were all born in captivity, have been held hostage for five years by a Taliban-linked group.
Arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport from Islamabad, Pakistan early Friday morning, they are now making their way to Toronto.
Boyle’s parents, Linda and Patrick Boyle, were seen packing a passenger van with car seats and children’s gifts outside their home in Smiths Falls, Ont., Friday afternoon.
Boyle and Coleman were rescued by Pakistani forces in “an intelligence-based operation” after their captors transported them across the border from Afghanistan, Pakistan officials said Thursday.
Boyle’s parents have already made arrangements to reintegrate the family back to life in Canada.
His father, Patrick Boyle, said the family is doing well but is “exhausted.”
Members from Parish that Boyle’s parents belong to called this a ‘miracle’, one they have been praying for.
“We can’t even begin to know what kind of suffering this family has gone through,” said Fred Schubert, from St. Philip Parish.
“We were powerless, so the only recourse we had was God, our faith, and we were not going to let go of hope.”
The trans-Atlantic journey marks the end of the ordeal that began in 2012.
The couple was kidnapped by the Haqqani network during a backpacking trip in Afghanistan in October 2012.
Coleman was pregnant with the couple’s first child when she was captured.
With files from The Canadian Press
