MIAMI VALLEY — A Huber Heights police officer has returned home after being stuck in Dubai due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, Officer Drew Metzger said he’s grateful to be back in his routine.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Raiders heading to NCAA tournament for first time in 4 years
- Police sergeant rescues injured cat from I-75
- 1 dead after dump truck loses tire, swerves into oncoming traffic
Two weeks ago, Metzger went to Dubai to see a friend, but never expected to be stuck due to the conflict in Iran.
“First thing I did when I got home, I hugged my mom. I’m a mama’s boy, so that’s the first thing I did was just hug my mom,” Metzger said.
Metzger left the States for Dubai just days before Operation Epic Fury started.
“The first few days, the malls were packed, the sightseeing places were all packed, everything was normal. You wouldn’t expect a war to be happening anytime soon,” he said.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Local police officer stuck in Dubai as conflict escalates in the Middle East
But then one morning, he woke up, and things felt different.
“You went outside, and no one was really outside talking, or like traffic used to be jam-packed, and that day it wasn’t, so that was kind of weird. That’s when I looked at the news and saw missiles had attacked, and stuff was kind of getting crazy,” he said.
“We started getting alerts on our phones at night about missiles being outside to take cover,” Metzger added.
CBS News reported that American citizens in Dubai could not get home becuase of widespread commercial flight cancellations due to airspace closures.
Metzger said he would book a flight, and then it would get canceled.
“That kind of put it into reality like wow, this is actually happening,” he said.
Metzger said he tried to get ahold of anyone back in the United States that could help him.
“And the phones would just ring busy,” he said.
It wasn’t until he spoke with News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson on the phone last week and got his story out that he heard back from Congressman Mike Turner’s Office.
“I don’t know if I would be here right now if it wasn’t for you guys, so it means a lot,” he said.
Metzger grew up in the Miami Valley and said he has a newfound appreciation for it.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
