BOZEMAN — Over the past few weeks, we've talked to a few Montanans who were stuck in the Middle East amid escalating conflict.
On March 17, MTN News reporter Gabrielle Cleveland spoke with two Bozeman sisters who were traveling in Saudi Arabia just a few weeks ago.
"Waking up to a message from my mom saying, 'hey girls, I think it's time to come home'," said one of the sisters, Alise Glenn.
WATCH: Bozeman sisters spent $8K each to flee Middle East conflict
Glenn and her sister, Laurel, said this was the moment they knew it was time to return home from their trip to the Middle East. Their original itinerary started in Saudi Arabia and included a road trip to Qatar; however, that quickly changed.
"Originally, the day Bahrain was hit the hardest, we were supposed to be in that area of the city," said Glenn.
The day she's speaking of was February 28th, when missiles struck near the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain.
"We were supposed to be right there," said Glenn.
Both sisters were born and raised in Bozeman. Alise Glenn explained herself as an avid traveler who planned this trip to the Middle East last year while she was traveling throughout Tanzania.
"I met some friends there who were from the Middle East."
The sisters described their first two days in the Middle East as "perfect." It was on day three that they started getting texts from family and friends back home.
The two read their messages and several news articles and said that's when they decided to find a way out.
"I thought to myself, 'we are going to get stuck here if we don't get out'," explained Glenn.
While the two were away, one of their close friends created a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the Glenn sisters pay for their flights back to Bozeman.
"We made the decision to pull all of our savings and use the loans of family and friends to leave."
They said they spent $8,000 each on their flights back to the U.S.
According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 43 thousand American citizens have returned from the Middle East since the end of February.
Their website advises Americans in the region who still need assistance to call the Department of State directly.
