Lethbridge man stranded in India

LETHBRIDGE- It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.  22-year-old Jayden Kolesar was touring Australia and India, when his trip took a turn for the worse.  His step mom Cathy Kolesar says it all began when his motorbike broke down in a rough area of India.

“We don’t know if he was robbed or what happened, but he had lost all his ID, all his money, everything, and the police put him in jail for his safety and he was happy to go.”

That was at the end of February.  Now, three weeks later, Jayden is stranded in an Indian mental hospital after the jail ran out of space.

Cathy has been trying her best to stay updated on the situation through texts and emails.  Her husband flew to India, along with Jayden’s aunt, but it’s been one road block after another.

“The doctor gave the release the very first day that my husband and Kelly showed up at the hospital there.  He was released, the police had given the release because there are no charges, everyone has given him a release but the judge,” adds Cathy.

It all comes down to paperwork and documents that were lost along with Jayden’s belongings.

“We were not getting any help from the Canadian Embassy or the High Commission over there, nobody would pay attention, nobody would call them back.  It was an absolute nightmare, they were spinning their wheels.”

Cathy said it was here in Canada where things started to change.

“I have to say the only person to help us was Jim Hillyer’s office in Lethbridge. They emailed me back as soon as I contacted them and helped us get Jayden’s visa from Perth, Australia.”

After asking the community to write emails to the consulate, Cathy says they started to see progress.  Jayden now has his passport, but the battle isn’t over yet.

“We now have to work on the exit visas, so please continue the support by emailing over there and putting the pressure on them.”

If you want to help Jayden you can email Delhi.consular@international.gc.ca, attention Mr. Sihgn.