We had a strange outcome in our last game and I am not sure we are interpreting the rules correctly.

I was the keeper in the Green Eyed Boy scenario. I had the objective 1a where I won when the last event was drawn and the players had to escape with the skull item. Things were moving along and the final objective card was revealed. The players knew where the skull was and had the item needed to get at it, and they were heading there at full speed. They still had plenty of time to get there and get out of the building. Then my traitor (the player I gave the 'you win with the keeper' card) ran behind them and pushed a barrier between them and the exit. He was the only one on that side of the barrier. We scoured the rules and found:

These feature markers represent pieces of furniture that investigators can use to
temporarily block a door. An investigator may spend his Action Step to either move a barrier in his space onto a door in that space (place it partially over the door), or move it from the door back into the space.
Once a barrier is on a door, investigators and monsters may not move through the door. A monster trying to move through this door has a chance to potentially remove or destroy that barrier (see page 23).
Barriers may not be moved out of their starting spaces.

It seems that once a barrier is placed, players on the other side of it are stuck. A player can only remove a barrier from a door if they are in the room with it. They cannot pull it into a different room since it must stay in the starting space. They cannot push it back into its room, as they are not in it's room. A monster can destroy it, but the players cannot (even with an axe!)

So the poor players just stayed in thir isolated section of the house as the clock ticked down and I (and my faithful traitor) eventually won.

Did we play this correctly. or is there some way the players could have removed the barrier from the other side?

I don't have the rules in front of me now, but I think barriers are automatically removed when an investigator goes through a door. Only monsters are blocked by barriers...

I don't have the rules in front of me now, but I think barriers are automatically removed when an investigator goes through a door. Only monsters are blocked by barriers...

No, the rule specifically states:

"Once a barrier is on a door, investigators and monsters may not move through the door."

The barrier must be removed before investigators can move through it, and I can find no way to do that from the other side (unless it is a monster trying to move through).

An investigator on either side of the barrier can move it. The rule was FAQd, probably for this very reason.

Seems I based my answer on the change in Call of the Wild.

Feature Marker Clarifications (CotW, page 10)
Allies and investigators may move through a door that is covered
by a barrier. To do so, simply remove the barrier from the door
and place it in the space. Then move the ally through the door.
Do not replace the barrier on the door after this movement.