In October 2012, Canadian-American couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman were kidnapped in the Maidan Wardak Province of Afghanistan while on a trip through Central and South Asia.
[2] Following the September 11 attacks, Boyle became interested in human rights issues and the case of Omar Khadr, a Canadian held in Guantanamo Bay.
[4] After their marriage, they spent time travelling in Central America before moving to Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, where Boyle worked as a municipal clerk.
[7] For unknown reasons, the couple crossed into Afghanistan in October;[1][4] Boyle has stated it was to help "ordinary villagers",[7] while other accounts indicate a more spontaneous decision.
[10] In September 2017, United States intelligence received information that a vehicle which was believed to be carrying Caitlan Coleman and her children was traveling to Pakistan from Afghanistan.
SEAL Team Six was tasked with preparing an extraction, but concerns about the accuracy of the information and the logistics of an assault deterred the US from taking action.
[12] On October 11, 2017, Pakistani troops encountered the vehicle carrying the family in the Kurram Valley, Pakistan, shooting out the tires and rescuing them.