The Fogels were an ordinary American family. They never expected their names could show up in future history books.

Siblings Marc, Anne and Lisa grew up in south Butler, where their 96-year-old mother still lives. Their maternal grandfather came to the United States from Italy. Their dad served in the Navy in the Korean War. The siblings had 39 first cousins on their mother’s side, a strong and steady family.

The siblings lived their lives and pursued their careers just like any family – until everything came to a screeching halt in August 2021.

That’s when Marc was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow. He’d go on to spend about three and a half years in Russian prison.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Feb. 10 — the eve of Marc’s return to American soil — Anne, who lives in Montana, described the trials and tribulations the Fogel family went through trying to free Marc from a Russian penal colony in Rybinsk, over 5,000 miles away.

Wednesday marked one year since Fogel was released from Russia and returned to the United States. Thanks to the efforts of his family, friends, lawyers, students, elected officials and others, he’s back in Pennsylvania -- and now nobody is losing sleep over his fate.

“Those three and a half years, there were times where you just didn’t think it could get any worse, or could go any lower,” Anne Fogel said of her brother’s imprisonment. “It was such a trial.”

The emotional turmoil still lingers to this day, she said.

“The stress did a number on me, on all of us,” Anne said. “Looking back, I think to myself, did that happen? Was that my reality? It’s all overwhelming, but the universe flipped back over.”

Fogel was arrested for possessing less than an ounce of medical marijuana that had been prescribed to him in the United States for chronic back pain. Fogel would be convicted of drug trafficking in a Russian court and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony — a decision that seemed likely to be a death sentence.

But the Fogel family relentlessly campaigned for his freedom.

Financial resources were redirected toward the efforts to raise awareness to Marc’s case and advocate for his freedom. Family members spent time and money flying to Washington, D.C. to rally and lobby lawmakers and setting up a website highlighting the cause.

The family made these efforts not knowing if they would work. Along the way, they kept faith, with Anne pointing to how their mom, Malphine, has talked about how prayer has gotten her through all of this.

It was emotionally draining, Anne said. Any free time they had went toward trying to come up with ways to do more for her brother.

Anne said she has a great relationship with her brother, making it all the more terrifying to see him in such a dangerous situation. But witnessing her mother through the process made it even worse.

“It was also watching my mother, knowing he was in such a dangerous situation. And I really felt the absence of my father,” Anne said. “It’s been 12 years since he’s been gone. His steadiness, I just kept thinking that I needed to be channeling him to see us through.”

Marc’s detainment led to some very dark times.

In August 2024, there had been hope Marc would be included in a potential prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. The family gotten wind of the swap, and thought maybe there was a chance he’d be included.

It was such a blow, Anne said.

She remembered calling Marc, still in Rybinsk, to tell him there had been a swap, involving Americans and Russians, and he wasn’t included.

“It was brutal. That was a very, very dark day,” Anne said.

When the Russians moved Fogel out of Rybinsk before releasing him, they did not tell him where he was going.

According to Anne, they put him in solitary confinement for a week. He barely slept for seven days and was kept in a cold cell.

But on Feb. 11, 2025, the suffering came to an end. News organizations started hearing Fogel was on his way home. The family waited painfully and stayed quiet until receiving confirmation the plane was out of Russian airspace.

Eventually, the Eagle got Anne on the phone, who screamed with joy on the other end.

“He’s coming home!” she declared.

In the year since Marc returned from Russia, he has spent a lot of time recovering, while the family grieves the time they lost together.

Marc and his wife, Jane, spend time at their cabin in Slippery Rock and outdoors, Anne said. He’s also enjoyed moments like getting to throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener last season, something that was like a childhood dream for him.

This whole journey has been emotionally exhausting, from the darkest days to Marc’s newfound freedom.

But now, the family is enjoying the little moments.

Ordinary life includes calling Marc on the phone, listening to him complain about the snow while he helps take care for Malphine, who still drives herself around, Anne said.

“It’s the happy moments,” Anne said. “It’s the driving in the car banter. It’s all the normal stuff.”

She recalled how the family enjoys the small things, like goofing around and singing “bad pop songs” together during Christmas.

Anne will soon get to go on vacation in Spain, the first time traveling anywhere since Marc was detained. She’s looking forward to it.

She said the Fogels have had a lot of time to reflect on this ordeal. Anne said she thinks about a range of aspects related to it all.

She thinks about Russian President Vladimir Putin a lot. Not only the suffering that has been caused by his war in Ukraine, but his rule in charge of the country Marc grew to love during his time teaching at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.

She thinks about how Marc will now be in the history books, during a such a complex time in history for both the United States and Russia.

And she thinks about her “undying gratitude for the people of Western Pennsylvania,” who joined her family’s fight in bringing Marc home.