U.S. swimmers pulled from plane amid questions about Lochte’s robbery story

By OlympicTalkAug 17, 2016, 10:09 PM EDT
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Two American swimmers who were with teammate Ryan Lochte when he was allegedly robbed at gunpoint several days ago were pulled off their plane at Rio’s airport Wednesday evening and are reportedly being detained by Brazilian authorities.

According to NBC News National Correspondent Peter Alexander, and since corroborated by several news sources and the U.S. Olympic Committee, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger are being held for questioning as authorities investigate their robbery claims.

The USOC issued this statement, via spokesperson Patrick Sandusky:”We can confirm that Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were removed from their flight to the United States by Brazilian authorities. We are gathering further information.”

Lochte spoke to TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday as well, attempting to resolve any questions about the timeline of events. See that full report here.

Earlier Wednesday, a Brazilian judge ordered that Lochte and teammate Jimmy Feigen, the fourth swimmer in the group, stay in Brazil as authorities continue their probe. However, Lochte’s father said Wednesday that his gold medal-winning son had arrived back in the United States on Tuesday, before the edict.

Feigen’s whereabouts could not immediately be confirmed, though he told the San Antonio Express-News he was still in Brazil.

Feigen was reportedly scheduled to be on the same flight as Bentz and Conger but did not show up to the airport.

Steve Lochte, told The Associated Press that his son called him on Tuesday.

“I’m just happy he’s safe,” the elder Lochte told the AP. “It was an unfortunate experience for him and the other three. I don’t know what all the controversy is. They were basically taken out of the taxi and robbed. The main thing is he’s very lucky that he’s safe and that all they got was his cash and wallet.”