>> reporter: tonight on dateline -- a harrowing international hostage drama. >> dad! just send the money! that's all they want. >> reporter: a mother and son, held prisoner by ruthless terrorists, deep in the philippine jungle. >> they have an american kid, they're thinking they hit the jackpot. >> there were thres that they would sell them to al qaeda. can a father, turned negotiator, help bring them home? >> we prepared him for the worst >> i'm getting worried, i am getting so worried! good evening. from washington. i'm lester holt. before we bring you that story, we have to begin with today's

historic events a day of ceremony and cheering could you describe in nation's capital highlighted by an unapologetic message of change as donald j. trump was sworn in as our 45th president. >> rarely has a sun broken on a more restless divide. >> it's just such a proud moment for all americans. so thrilled and blessed to be here. time for change. time for positive change. >> or growing anxiety over a predicted future. >> today is the first official day of protest against this administration. >> he assumes that everyone is going to march and lock step with him and we don't. >> you get a free. >> there seems to be little middle ground anymore. the obamaste

mansions north for the trump motorcade to arrive. >> hellos, how are you smiles. a kiss from melania who brought a gift box for the obamas. a group photo for another ritual. outgoing tenants serving tea and coffee if the incoming ones then on to business. the presidential limousine proceeded down. the two men in back couldn't be more different. one time community organizer and billionaire business mogul who weaponized twitter during a brawling campaign. all eyes were on the opponent. secretary hillary clinton and her husband, the former president. grim faced waiting to be announced. former president, jimmy carter and george w. bush filed in as did congressional leaders and supreme court justices.

president joe biden. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president elect of the united states, donald john trump. >> and finally the president elect with a kiss from melania and then across the isaisle, greetings to outgoing family. then the choir sang. >> please raise your right hand and repeat after me. >> at the prescribed hour of noon, chief justice john roberts led mr. trump through the oath of office. his hand on the lincoln bible. the second one given to him by his mother. >> so help me god. >> congratulations mr. president. >> an event last year so many thought impossible had come to pass. donald j. trump is the 45th president of the united states.

it was an inaugural address like no other. as provok ticative as the messaf his campaign. the people versus the political class. america first. >> politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. we've made other countries rich while the wealth strength, and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizontal. from this day forward, it's going to be only america first.

>> the new president also promised change and a better future. >> when you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. together, we will make america great again. thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. >> mr. trump's many supporters in the crowd loved hearing vintage campaign rhetoric spoken now as the president's own words. >> we've never heard a president speak with such heart and warmth for the american people. and for america. >> this man watching from chicago disagreed. i thought it was dark. i thought it was negative and i thought it showed really no leadership for america. it had platitudes and negative activity ivity. that's all i saw. >> then it was time for obamas to take their lead.

with a smile and a wave, they boarded. the obama era was over. >> i assume he was approved today. >> on the heels of blistering attack from podium, seemed more cordial with leaders. >> mr. president, the leader wants you. >> he signed official papers for cabinet nominations as his family includes grandchildren watched. it was all smiles at a luncheon too. a far more accommodating tone than his inaugural address. toasted former pote eer opponeny clinton. >> i was honored. very, very honored when i heard president bill clinton and secretary clinton was coming today and i would like you to stand up. and honestly there's nothing more i can say because i have a lot of respect for those two people. >> a little more than a mile away, the mood was ugly.

protest all morning long, but after the swearing in, the demonstrations had taken a turn. store windows were smashed, organized demonstrators engaged with the police. trash barrels were tossed and burned. classes results in more than 200 arrests. and then just after 3:30 it was time for the parade. crowds lined pennsylvania avenue to get a glimpse of the new president and first lady. there were cheers of support and some jeering too. just before reaching his hotel, the president got out of his limo and walked briefly hand in hand with melania. ten-year-old son baron at his side. >> what are you emotions at this hour, sir. >> beautiful day. >> and 2 bands marchedas

it had been a long day, but the celebration continued into the night with three inaugural balls and for the first couple a first dance to what else, the classic my world. >> tomorrow, president trump's first full day in office. more on your inauguration on the late lowball news and tomorrow today. when we come back, a worldwide hostage drama. astonishing story of heart break and heroism. and dove is not di. at all! and dove is not di. with 1/4 moisturizing cream dove is gentler on your skin. it made me a believer. when it comes to the beauty bar i'll be using dove...

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>> reporter: they lay in wait, unseen under a thick green canopy, armed to the teeth. immersed in their defiant extremist belief, hunting, stalking, deadly, in this

the first thing she said was gerfa and kevin were kidnapped in the philippines. >> reporter: kidnapped? sherry hutter tried to wrap her head around the inconceivable. gerfa was her aunt. kevin, gerfa's 14-year-old son. >> reporter: gerfa's husband heiko lunsmann had stayed behind in lynchburg, and was at work when he heard. >> you must have been terrified. >> yes. it was impossible to think about it. but pictures don't lie. >> reporter: they didn't. there they were, on philippine television. incomprehensible images, gerfa's and kevin's passports, their half-packed suitcases. the stricken relatives they'd beis

southern philippines. gerfa, kevin and one of gerfa's young cousins, said the news reports, kidnapped by boat in the dead of night. >> i was thinking, no, that doesn't happen to us! >> well, nobody thinks it's gonna happen to us, right? >> yeah. but my wife's heart is in the philippines. that's her family. gerfa was born in the philippines. had always felt safe there. her older sister married a u.s. navy sailor and moved to america in 1985. and brought then 16-year-old gerfa with her, hoping to give her a chance at a better life. >> she was so excited about the opportunity. i remember she worked a lil' caesar's pizza and that was the greatest thing to get a job. >> reporter: she had a son, josh, went back to community college to improve herself. and there she met a german immigrant named heiko. she become a lab technician, heiko a maintainance man.

neighborhood of lynchburg and had kevin. and the immigrants' son became an all-american kid he was 14 that summer of 2011. >> he was normal, american kid who likes pizza and hot dogs and burgers. hang out with his friends, play video games, ride on his skateboard. >> reporter: now that innocent boy was in the hands of, well, god knows who. though sherry had an idea. >> when i first heard they were kidnapped, the first thing that came to my mind was, "oh my gosh, it's abu sayyaf." >> reporter: abu sayyaf, a small but extremely violent militant group. over the years it claimed affiliation first with al quaeda, then isis, as it fought to establish an independent islamic state in the southern philippines. it's bread and butter in its fight against the government? kidnap-for-ransom. abu sayyaf had taken american hostages before, some were releasedve

but some, were beheaded. heiko was frantic, had no idea what to do, where to turn. and then, that very day, he got a visit from the fbi. >> we never know how families are gonna react, obviously. but almost in every case, they're in a state of crisis. >> reporter: mark thundercloud was the leader of a special fbi hostage negotiating unit, formed precisely for an emergency like this. more than a dozen agents descended on the lunsmann house, covered the windows, set up a surveillance system in heiko's kitchen, and got ready for what they knew was coming, a demand for ransom. >> the f.b.i. told me that my wife and son are merchandise for them. >> that's kinda hard to hear. >> yes. >> we try to be very transparent with the families in these cases. we try to prepare them as best as we can. >> did you prepare heiko for the possibility they would be executed? >> yeah, we prepared him for the worst. >> reporter: now there was

and then the phone rang. >> is this mr. heiko lunsmann? >> yes, that's me. >> reporter: on the phone, a man who called himself "mr. so." >> we would like to tell you that, uh, we need 10 million us dollars for the release of your family. can you hear me? >> and i just was thinking, "are you losing your mind? who you think you got?" just couldn't believe it. $10 million. from me. >> i'm not a rich person, but i will give whatever i can get together. okay -- >> we need 10 million us dollars for the release of your family. okay? >> reporter: heiko was lucky in this, when mr. so made his demands, some of the most experienced fbi hostage negotiators in the country were

>> these are for general visual prompts that we want heiko to think about. we have all the questions related to kevin and gerfa and what we're doing then, we're gonna write notes down and pass them to heiko. he would read it and hopefully introduce it to the conversation. >> where's my wife? can i talk to her? is she's okay? where's my son? >> yeah, no, uh, your son. >> is she with you? can i talk to them? i wanna know if they're okay. >> reporter: mr. so didn't say. meanwhile fbi agents in the philippines were working sources on the ground. word was that gerfa and kevin had been taken to one of abu sayyaf's strongholds -- basilan, a large island about four hours by boat from where they'd been kidnapped. to a base camp deep in what was nearly impenetrable jungle. >> we travelled to basilan to talk with politicians there, who may have had some influence over this group. >> reporter: the week after the kidnapping heiko wired a ransom payment.

to a bank account in the philippines. >> i was thinking, pay them money and it's over. but they started wanting more and more and more. when heiko insisted he didn't have the money, the kidnappers turned up the heat. they put kevin on the line. >> dad! >> yeah. how are you doing over there? >> are you there? we need you to send the money. >> i know that, and i'm ready, but all that i have over here i will send, and they know it. >> dad! just send the money. that's all they want. >> reporter: heiko maxed out his credit cards. borrowed money from whomever he could. but it never seemed to be enough. >> as the incident grows from weeks into months, we end up with so many boards that we have to work our way down this hallway. >> reporter: daniel girsch was one of the hostage negotiators assigned to guide heiko. >> and it gets to the point where we don't think that we're

making progress. heiko feels like we're not making progress. >> i think you just hope. that's all what you have, hope. >> reporter: but hope was hard to hang onto. the kidnappers kept threatening beheadings. even worse, they put gerfa on the phone, and beat her while she talked to heiko. >> sweetheart, what you doing over there? >> i know honey. i'm just so -- >> just tell them i don't have a million. please do that. >> i want this to stop. i know, i told them that you don't have anything but they just, like, asking. >> how are you doing gerfa? >> stop that! [ crying ] >> i am getting worried, i'm getting so worried. [ crying ] >> reporter: a few seconds later the line went dead. >> oh my god! [ bleep ], i'm smoking, i got have a [ bleep ] cigarette, or i'm gonna [ bleep ] -- >> heiko, heiko -- you need to

be ready. >> reporter: ready for what? the kidnappers made it seem like some barbaric game. how long before they tired of it and killed the two great loves of his life? >> i've worked these cases that will last years instead of months. >> and i was thinking, "no, i'm not making it for years. i mean, there is no way." >> reporter: heiko didn't have to wait that long, three months after gerfa and kevin were taken, there was a very different phone call. and for heiko, it was terrifying. or help improve the multiple symptoms of depression.

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>> reporter: it had been three months since an islamic paramilitary group had kidnapped heiko lunsmann's wife and son. he'd already sent the kidnappers more than twenty thousand dollars. a fortune for him. and then the phone rang again. >> reporter: heiko could scarcely believe it. as the news flashed across the philippines. and to lynchburg, virginia. his wife gerfa was alive. and free. and safe! so, inexpressible joy. and then gerfa called him. and heiko realized the nightmare. was just beginning. >> she called me, really, really sad and crying.

so my first question to her was "where's kevin?" >> reporter: he could hear the terror in her voice. abu sayyaf still had kevin and her cousin. they could kill them any time they wanted. >> and i felt her dark place, just being a mother myself. and it was awful. >> reporter: and before long her terror deepened. when she learned her cousin got out, too. which meant that there in that awful place, her 14-year-old son no one left to protect him was all alone. >> i remember seeing that picture of her that was in the news. and she looked so sad. she looked so sad and helpless. >> reporter: this is gerfa. and here, even five years later the memory is brutal. we brought her back here to the philippines and asked her to tell us her story. the story that began at 2 o'clock in the morning, at the end of a happy family reunion, on a beach just abou

one. >> it does take you back. you know, you can hear the water, the waves. you can feel the wind. you see the evening sky. the stars. >> suddenly i saw from the left side two men running really fast, like, on the sand. with some kind of rifle, i scream for help. i was terrified. i never screamed that loud in my life. >> reporter: gerfa rushed back to her hut and grabbed kevin. together they ran toward the beach. but they didn't get far. in an instant they were surrounded by several armed men in military fatigues. >> kevin was looking at me. he was in front of me. and -- when suddenly someone kick him from behind that violence right there -- they were rough right away. is like, "why did they -- why did they kick my son?" >> reporter: a motor boat suddenly appeared. the men pushed kevin and gerfa into it.

shocked and frightened, gerfa looked up to see her cousin, not quite 22 years old and the father of a new-born -- holding on to the boat, trying to prevent it from leaving. >> and he was begging him and begging him to let him in. he said, "this is my family. i wanna be with them. my fate will be the same." >> reporter: so they took her cousin too. gerfa watched the shore disappear into the darkness. >> reporter: in a matter of a moment, you went from a feeling of incredible peace to the worst nightmare you -- you could ever imagine. >> chaos. complete chaos. >> reporter: it was early morning, right after sunrise, when they arrived at an island. they were made to sit hidden in the mangroves. "take me," gerfa pleaded with the kidnappers, "let the boys go." but in response, one of the men raised his machete. >> he looked at me and he said, "did you want me to cut your son's -- your infidel son's head?" >> behead him -- >> behead him. i knew right then it was

religious. >> yeah, the -- these guys are fanatics -- >> i knew it was more serious. i've never seen so much hate. >> reporter: gerfa had heard about abu sayyaf and their kidnappings. but she never thought for a moment that she could be a target. >> the fear of death is so strong. we were surrounded by these armed men. there was no rescue, there was no sign of rescue. we were on our own. >> reporter: night came. they were prodded at gunpoint to their feet and into the jungle. and its own particular darkness. >> i constantly followed kevin. the minute he's like three feet away from me he is gone. it's like he's gone in the dark. >> reporter: and then a light, just a flash really, a car in the distance. the kidnappers seemed terrified by it and gerfa was gripped by a fear more terrible than any in

her life. >> immediately someone stood really close to kevin. and i saw that silver rifle, the tip of it just went close to his forehead. and at that point i just realized, i was like, "oh my gosh, i might lose my son," that night. use febreze air effects, till it's fresh and try febreze small spaces... ...to continuously eliminate up to two times the odors for 30 days. febreze small spaces and air effects, two more ways [inhale + exhale mnemonic] to breathe happy.

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>> reporter: in the dark of a philippine jungle, surrounded by men with hate in their eyes, gerfa lunsmann looked, terrified, at her 14 year old son. an approaching car had put the kidnappers on alert. and now one of them held an automatic rifle to kevin's head. >> i just said, "don't move, son," while my entire body was frozen. >> reporter: and then the car passed. and they kept walking. and several hours later they arrived

camp. >> and this is where they were brought-- to a cage in the jungle. not this cage, we actually built this one, but to the exact specifications given to us by gerfa. five feet by five feet, some old broken boards for a floor, jungle sticks lashed together with bark. no roof, no protection from the elements. but a cage as secure as any cage in any prison. >> reporter: there were guard tents to either side of the cage. a sniper on a hill above, watching them. and right behind the cage -- a seemingly bottomless cliff, planted with land mines, said their captors. >> i know you had been walking for, like, 36 hours or something. how did you feel? >> well, exhausted, physically, spiritually, mentally -- >> and then they present you with this. >> and you see this piece of crap. and this guy told us, "get in."

you want to fight it. 'cause, you know, you're not an animal. >> reporter: they sat in silence, forbidden to speak. they were, bit by bit, starved. fed a little rice and dried fish -- a single plate per day to share. then one night, about a week after they'd been taken hostage, the group's leader told gerfa about the price abu sayyaf had put on her head. that 10 million they demanded from heiko. >> i felt my whole body just collapsed. i knew if i cannot convince him that i don't have that money, i will never see my family again. so i looked up toward heaven. and there was this one star just

i pointed at the star, this one star up in the sky. and i told them, "if they can get that star -- my husband can give them ten million dollars." >> reporter: gerfa knew heiko would have sent all the money they had, even as the kidnappers squeezed him by putting his terrified son on the phone. >> dad! just send the money. that's all they want. >> reporter: heiko didn't realize that the kidnappers were beating kevin as he spoke. gerfa was forced to watch...helpless, full of rage. >> he get hurt from head to toe. even though he fell on the ground, they continued to -- >> they kept kicking him. >> -- abuse him. but all he was doing was just listening to his dad. because that was the safety zone. >> reporter: this is gerfa's cousin. the young man who forced the kidnappers to take him so he could protect her and kevin. he now threw himself on kevin, tried to shield him.

>> what i want is to hug kevin, protect him. and i wanna take the beating. but they tried to keep me away from kevin. i cannot fight back. >> reporter: when it was over, kevin and gerfa were forced back into the cage, battered and horrified. and there was her cousin, lying in the corner, crying. >> we were just, like, rubbing his back, trying to console him. because it was just the three of us. no one care about our feelings. how hurt we are. the world was not there for us. no one was there. >> reporter: and if no one was coming to rescue them. well, then they had no choice. they had to try to escape. come what may -- down that cliff. and then, two months into their captivity, the moment came. gunfire pierced the silence. the kidnappers grabbed their weapons and ran toward the front of the camp.

and the captives, impulse in unison, squeezed through the cage and slid off the edge of the cliff. >> there was no time to think what happened, "no, we gotta go now." >> down a slope like that. >> yeah. we're trying to get -- >> head first. >> yes. head first, holding onto the roots and the bushes. >> reporter: but then they heard a shout. one of their kidnappers had seen them -- was alerting the others. >> it's like, "really -- i cannot believe they caught us." we march back into that cage. >> that tiny little cage. which must have felt like a tomb to you. >> we know we're gonna die in that cage. >> reporter: but their captors were on edge. for a reason. this is nbc news footage of military exercises on the coast of basilan that september of 2011, about two months into gerfa's ordeal. the philippine military, supported by american advisors, was launching an offensive against abu sayyaf. which, in turn, became so rv

kevin, gerfa and her cousin -- out of that cage and into a windowless room in a farm house about a day's hike away. and then, one of them pulled gerfa from their cell. they were taking her away. >> and at that point, i was like, "oh my god, they're gonna separate me from my son." >> reporter: they told her she would be back the next day. but she was convinced her time was up. that she was about to be executed. >> were you ready to die? >> i was ready. i said, "lord, thank you for the beautiful family you gave me." and said, "if you want me to come home, i'm ready. but i want you to let these two boys -- guide them out of that jungle. it's in your hand now." >> reporter: they put gerfa on a boat. put a bag over her body. but to her complete surprise, they didn't kill her. instead they dropped her off on a footbridge near a vi

told her they'd be in touch soon. >> they started to disappear in the dark ocean. and i knew right then that my connection to kevin is gone. it was worse than being in prison. there was no freedom for me. >> reporter: she got in touch with the philippine military. was evacuated to manila, philippine's capital. back in lynchburg, lead fbi negotiator mark thundercloud thought he knew why the kidnappers released gerfa. >> their intent was to let her go to help raise more money. now she's out. and now she's gotta talk to these people. >> right. >> someone needs to be there with her. >> reporter: heiko decided he should stay in lynchburg, try to find the money, and mark thundercloud moved his operations from the family's kitchen to a hotel room in manila. and there, as one month passed, then another, they tried to help gerfa deal with mr. so.

>> december 6th was the last day that we talked with mr. so. basically, he was saying, "look, what you're offering is not enough. this might be the last communication that we ever have. we still expected calls. but on the 7th, nothing. on the 8th, nothing. on the 9th, nothing. >> reporter: oh, they would hear what happened to kevin. soon enough. a shock-in-waiting. unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that can be really frustrating. talk to your doctor about viberzi, a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage

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'something happened. something happened to ken.

>> an fbi agent was holding a phone. on the line, the mayor of a small town on island. it's for you. the agent told her. the mayor said, "mrs. lunsmann?." i was like, "yeah?" "kevin is out." i was like, "what, what?" it's like chaos after that. i was like, "what happened?" >> reporter: kevin was free! but how? >> it's the craziest turn of my life probably. i didn't think it was ever gonna happen. >> reporter: here he is, kevin lunsmann. now 20-years old. and this is his amazing story. which began a moment before the kidnappers took his mom away. when she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. >> i remember her words exactly. she said, "you have to go home to your father. you have to go back home." and that made me realize that she might be thinking that she may not make it tonight.

to be killed? >> yes, i just wanted to cry. i didn't -- i didn't wanna lose her. >> reporter: soon after that, they took his cousin away too. >> and after he left, i was alone. there was nothing more. it was just me. >> reporter: he was 14. there had always been someone to care for him. but not anymore. and so, alone in that dark little room, he made a choice. >> i was gonna get home. one way or another. >> how the heck would you do that? >> i was still unclear of that myself. i just had to wait. maybe -- maybe one day they'd get careless. >> you'd escape? >> yes. >> reporter: bit by bit he prepared. >> physically i tried to maintain. i tried to get as much as food as i could when they'd give it to me. sometimes do sit-ups, push-ups 'cause if i ever did have to run i'd have to be somewhat in shape. >> reporter: and then he had an

the kidnappers allowed him to wash his clothes and hang them to dry on a line outside the house. maybe, if they were distracted somehow he could make a run for it, get to the ocean, catch a boat to the mainland. wishful thinking of course, he was guarded around the clock. but then, one morning, almost six months after he was taken hostage. >> i woke up at the morning and i could hear no sounds whatsoever. i looked at the trails and i didn't see anyone walking around. and it was sort of like a lightbulb moment. this might be it. >> reporter: he washed his clothes. hung them up. eyes darting. >> i proceeded to walk to the edge of the house. and i looked into the creek and around the side. i could see no one, nothing, no movement. and after that i just bolted. >> reporter: kevin knew, as many 14-year olds do, that water obliterates footprints, might hide his route of escape. and so, with his heart pounding and his ears straining for the sounds of pursuers, he picked his way down the creek bed and into the jungle.

and then he heard it. the bird call. >> wasn't a bird. this was more of, like, an alert call that the terrorists used to communicate with another, so i knew the signal had been put out that i had escaped. >> what'd that do to you? >> as soon as i heard it, i knew i had to get out as fast as i could. i had to run. >> i guess it's one of those moments in life where you either grow up and deal with it or you decide to give up and stay a little boy. >> those were my two choices. are you gonna panic or are you gonna man up and try and get out of here. and i chose option two. >> reporter: and so he ran all day and into the thick black of a jungle night. his feet raw, his clothes ripped by unseen hazards, bloodied now by a thousand thorns that tore into his flesh. >> i would get through it at any cost. even if it cost me my life, at least i tried. >> reporter: toward morning,

exhausted, he searched for a hiding place so inhospitable his pursuers wouldn't think to look. he fell asleep in a mosquito-infested swamp. and when the sun rose and he opened his eyes. >> i remember waking up and not smelling the aroma of the coffee that they had brewed or maybe the type of food, like fried rice. i didn't smell any of that. i smelled fresh air. i smelled -- i smelled freedom. >> reporter: at least for the moment. but where was he? >> at a point i couldn't keep going through brush because i didn't know my exact location. i had to keep walking, possibly get on a road. >> but there was danger because people might see you out here. >> yes. people might see me, yes. >> well, on this island, you don't know who's with them and who's not, right? >> right. >> reporter: but it was a risk he had to take and soon regretted. walking down the road, he heard a voice behind him. a man was approaching.

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>> reporter: for two days and one long night, kevin lunsmann could practically feel his captor's breath on his neck, their guns in his back, as he ran, and somehow eluded them. >> i probably had over a hundred or more lacerations my body, blood all over my arms as well. so i didn't look too good. >> reporter: and then he took that one necessary risk, emerged to a public road, and there it was, the end. clearly a local, on this abu sayyaf-infested island, and he

had a very big gun. >> i thought that it was all over. i had escaped and walked through all of that terrain, and it was for nothing. they had found me, and they were going to bring me back. >> reporter: then the man spoke, and the words startled kevin. he was speaking english. >> and he was asking, "do you need help?" you know, "were you kidnapped?" and i froze at that question and i just thought, "this is it. should i just tell him?" >> he could go either way still. he could take you away, take you back to those guys. >> right, and i knew those risks. but at this point, i felt like i was going to put my trust in him. >> so how'd he react? >> he proceeded to say, "i'm gonna get you out of here. i'm gonna get you home. and my name's kenny." >> "my name is kenny?" >> "my name is kenny, like kenny rogers." that's exactly what he said. it gave me a laugh.

laughs i had in a long time. >> reporter: kenny got in touch with the mayor of a nearby village. the mayor called the philippine army, and the army arrived in humvees. >> it seemed like hundreds of them. and i was just like, "this is all for me." i just couldn't believe it. i realized i'm really gonna see my family again. i'm gonna see my friends. i am gonna have my life back. >> reporter: but would he have his mom? for months, kevin had been grieving, afraid she'd been executed by the militants. but then the mayor gave him the phone, and kevin heard a familiar voice. >> "hey, mom. is that really you? i had no clue for months what happened to you." once i heard her voice, i knew that was her. and i think at that point i felt alive again. there was color in my life again. >> reporter: after that 14-year-old's amazing escape, the u.s. military put him on a plane to manila, where his mother was waiting on the tarmac.

i was ready to climb that plane and open that door. and he stood there on the plane, right there, looking around. i was like, "i'm right here." it's like, "i'm right here." >> and i see this woman. and i see tears. and as i got closer and closer, i realize i knew who that was. we just ran up to each other, and we just hugged each other. and it was just incredible. >> reporter: back in lynchburg, kevin's dad, heiko, was delivering christmas turkeys to a hospital when somebody found him and gave him the news. >> i was so happy. your mind gets clear again. so you don't have to worried no more. and i will have my family back. [ laughs ] and that just -- it's a great feeling. it's a great feeling. >> reporter: on december 14th, 2011, six months after they were taken hostage, gerfa and kevin finaca

sherry. >> it was awesome. the first thing we did was put up -- >> christmas decorations. >> christmas decorations. and kevin and gerfa were just so grateful to be back with their family. >> reporter: in 2012 the philippine army caught three of gerfa's and kevin's kidnappers. gerfa returned to the philippines to testify at their trial and help send her captors to prison. kevin was honored for his bravery by the virginia general assembly and met president%obama. he's in college now and thinking about joining the fbi. >> he was there, you know, as a boy. and now he came out as a man. the whole maturity is just unbelievable. >> you must be pretty proud of that boy. >> reporter: the five years that separate their ordeal from this evening on the beach with us have erased not a moment of the

memory, the terror they shared, the pain, depravation, sorrow, and, finally, joy. and we look on and see a bond only they can fully understand. >> did you ever think you'd actually be in this situation where you've got your arm around your mother and the two of you are talking about this in the past tense with smiles on your faces? >> never. >> not at that point, no. we didn't think it was gonna be even possible. it's somewhat of a miracle. >> and we're very glad to see you safe. [ laughs ] >> thank you. >> i'm glad we're back. >> wonderful, wonderful.

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