American traveler Stacey Addison says she was detained for months in East Timor because she unwittingly shared a taxi with a stranger carrying methamphetamine . Now she 's out of jail -- and a guest of a former East Timor leader . Addison , 41 , of Oregon , was released from an East Timor prison Thursday , nearly four months after her initial arrest in the small Southeast Asian nation in a drug case in which she says she 's innocent . Addison appeared before reporters Thursday at the home of former East Timorese President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta , who says he 'll host her temporarily at his home . Details on the reasons and conditions for her release , or when she would be able to leave the country , were n't available . She could n't leave immediately Thursday , because her passport -- seized during the investigation -- had not been returned . The U.S. State Department welcomed the decision , according to department spokesperson Jen Psaki , but confirmed that Addison remains in Timor-Leste where the government still retains her passport . Both she and Ramos-Horta said they would not discuss details of the case . Addison was asked what she would do when she is able to obtain a passport . Her answer : `` Go home . '' `` I do n't think my mom would ever forgive me if I did n't come home immediately and stay for a while , '' she said . Addison 's arrest in September was an unexpected bump in what had been a multi-year trip around the world . She said she had been traveling solo since January 2013 , having quit her job as a veterinarian to explore the globe . On September 5 , she was sharing a cab from near the Indonesian border to the East Timor capital of Dili . On the way , a fellow passenger asked to stop to pick up a package at a DHL office , her mother , Bernadette Kero of Oregon , has told CNN . After the man picked up the package , police surrounded the car and arrested the occupants , according to Kero . The package was found to contain methamphetamine , Addison has said . She initially was held for four nights , and a judge released her -- but prevented her from leaving the country while the case was still being investigated -- after the man testified that he did n't know her , Kero said . In late October , during a court appearance where she thought she 'd retrieve her passport , a judge ordered her arrest again and sent her to Gleno prison outside Dili . Paul Remedios , a lawyer representing Addison , said at the time that the court detained her again because there was a warrant for her arrest , and that the reason for the warrant was unclear . Addison said Thursday that she had petitioned for her release earlier this month , but did n't expect to be released on Thursday . `` I had kind of thought it would n't happen because it 's Christmas -- that everything would be closed , '' she said . `` I knew there was a petition pending , but it had been three weeks and I had heard nothing . '' Kero told CNN last month that the case was a `` nightmare . '' On Thursday , she said her daughter 's release was `` the best Christmas present I could imagine . '' `` The past four months have been an extremely stressful time for all of us , '' Kero wrote in an email Thursday . `` Of course we are now hoping that her passport will be returned and she will be able to return home to Oregon very soon . `` Her lawyer will work on getting her passport released . I just want to be able to see her and give her a big hug . ''
Stacey Addison was detained by police in September during a taxi journey . She says another passenger in the cab picked up a package containing drugs . Addison was on a nearly two-year trip around the world . She is awaiting return of her passport so she can go back to the United States .