Dave Lavery is seen in this file photo during a conversation about the Polar Bear Plunge
Perth native, David Lavery, a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier known as “Canadian Dave” has been safely flown out of Taliban custody and is now in Doha, Qatar, according to a Qatari official.
CTV Reports Lavery, who helped over 100 people escape Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul in 2021, was detained by the Taliban on Nov. 11 after arriving in Afghanistan.
His location was unknown for several weeks.
The details of his detention and release remain unclear, but Lavery is now safe.
Lavery operates Raven Rae Consulting Services, a private security company. He was one of the only Canadians at Hamid Karzai International Airport when the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan.
In 2021, he worked to extract people with Canadian documents, receiving a list of more than 1,000 names. Refugees were told to wear red and look for “Canadian Dave.”
He is also one of the founders of the Perth Polar Bear Plunge. He returns every year to take part in the jump on New Year’s Day near the Perth Legion. He was greatly missed this year.
We will provide further details when they become available.