N.J. sisters trapped in Georgia reach U.S. EmbassyTwo little girls from Monmouth County were reunited with their father today and could be returning home within a few days after being trapped by violence in the Republic of Georgia for two weeks.
Ashley and Sophia Evans arrived at the U.S. Embassy in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after a six-hour ride in a vehicle with French Ambassador Eric Fournier. There, they met their father, who had flown to Tbilisi, and also got McDonald's Happy Meals and cake.
Fournier said in a telephone interview that 7-year-old Ashley and 3-year-old Sophia got through a checkpoint in the town of Gori after getting permission to keep traveling from a Russian general.
The girls' father, Joseph Evans said they'll be back home in Howell -- and reunited with their Georgian-born mother, Tea-h -- within a few days.
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) who went to Tbilisi to orchestrate the girls' return, said Joseph Evans was struggling to get the girls' airline tickets home changed and might need more diplomatic help to do that. The earliest they might be able to leave is Saturday, Smith said.
