How to spot signs of possible parental kidnapping

As stated by the Department of Justice, around 200,000 children are targeted for parental abduction annually. 6% of these parental kidnapping incidents are open for six months or more. Sadly some have never been closed at all. This is a daunting, if sobering, statistic. The same person a parent should be able to depend on with their children, the other parent, their spouse, can also become so cold and insensitive as to betray the trust of not only their partner, but their own child’s trust!

Parental kidnapping does not arise and it happens out of the blue. In fact, the crime itself is a shock to most, however, you can always find reasons that create the parents’ feelings of frustration and those examples are almost always the result of a recent divorce or the loss of the child through a child custody case.

So what is parental kidnapping, exactly?

To determine parental abduction, the parent’s right to custody of the children must first be discussed. The reason is that the parent who is determined by the judge to be the legal guardian of the child and/or who is awarded custody of the child, can take the child anywhere he or she wishes within reason.

Child custody begins and ends with a child’s true biological parents. Without any unusual mitigating factors, parents can make most of the decisions related to how and where they will raise their children. The parent has the legal ability to select the child’s education, medical care, religious beliefs, and subject matter, the location of the child’s home. The laws are very clear and parents are not required to ask the judge for the legal right to make such decisions regarding their child.

The issues that are reflected in relation to the abduction by one parent and which parent is the victim surrounds these extraordinary extenuating circumstances. Of which, there are several. Although these factors may be the parents’ ability to make these decisions, both legally and rationally, it has been questioned because of their mental or even physical ability. For example, if one of the parents suffered from dementia, or was in jail, stationed in another country, etc. In this type of instance, the lawyers would ask the family court for a child custody hearing. The complexities can be limitless, however, it usually involves just one: divorce.

Parental kidnapping and the role of divorce;

Divorces involving child custody are just as complicated and complex as any lawsuit you may have. In child custody matters, lives are at stake. The fate of a child, plus the total and heartbreaking loss of one of the two parents involved, rests squarely at the judge’s feet. Child custody is truly an important hearing in the lives of the families involved.

When a divorce has been filed, divorce attorneys for both parties will discuss custody, whether joint custody or sole custody, visitation rights, financial obligations, health insurance for the child, child support, and numerous other details that still need to be discussed in family court. Unfortunately, as long as joint arrangements are not made regarding joint custody between the mother and the father, one will walk out of court having lost their entire family in one fell swoop.

Having lost legal custody of the child, the father has a diminished right to make judgments about the upbringing of that child. Thereafter, any rights of that parent are allowed only in accordance with the conditions agreed upon by the parties, the divorce attorneys, and ordered by the judge. This can often be more emotional discord than an individual can handle. It is this experience that could very well cause this normally sensible and rational individual to commit a completely illogical and irrational crime: parental kidnapping.

When a parent willfully and knowingly takes a child in order to deny the custodial parent the rights defined in the child custody court order, the crime of parental kidnapping has been committed. It does not matter in any way which county, which city or which state a parental kidnapping suspect may go to. Under the federal laws that oversee these matters, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act rigorously enforces the child custody decision made by the judge in every state. Each state will respect, uphold, and honor another state’s custody decision.

What to observe;

If you, or someone you care about or appreciate recently, is going through a divorce involving custody of children, there are specific warning signs that you or they should watch out for to avoid becoming, as well as the child becoming, a victim of parental abduction. Throughout the proceedings, if a parent begins to show signs of not being emotionally or mentally intact as in the past, he should warn his divorce lawyer of this and allow him to write it down and report it. In fact, the individual might be in need of mental counseling or counseling to better handle events that unfold beyond her control. It is logical, although on the other hand, to be on guard.

An additional sign to watch for is that when all the hearings have taken place and things have calmed down to some degree, the parent begins to return the child from visitation later than agreed. He should have his divorce lawyer do the visitation periods recognized in the court documents. Both parties must understand and acknowledge these times and they must be respected and applied. If the return time starts to be an issue, kindly inform them of the court order and call your divorce attorney and get his or her advice on the situation right away.

Any time the father says or does anything that remotely suggests there might be a problem, or if they ever threaten in any way that they may not return the child, or “take the child and never see him again,” immediately end all contact with the father and immediately call your divorce lawyer as well as the police. Never take this threat spell as a joke and never allow your child to go off with the parents unsupervised again. Ask your divorce lawyer to ask the court to stop and/or supervise visitation.

In Case Of Parental Kidnapping;

If the parent has left with your child for some excuse that you weren’t previously aware of, there may be a problem and you should start calling the other parent immediately. After several phone calls and no answer or response, call the police and ask them to visit the parent’s house to check things out. Never go alone! Anything can happen while you’re up against someone potentially unstable. At the first symbol of parental kidnapping, call the authorities. The sooner the police can start working on the case, the better the chances of a quick reunion with you and your child.

In many cases, the victim parent does not want to believe that their ex might be capable of kidnapping one of their parents. It is this denial that allows precious minutes and hours to pass and the child to drift further and further from her home. Once again, parental kidnapping occurs 200,000 times a year, according to the Justice Dept. Mind you, be on your guard, don’t tolerate threats and your son will not make it to 200,001.