Snatched
At half past four, Mary* blew out the candles on Jamie's birthday cake. Ten little flames flickered and died. And with them the hope of seeing her son was extinguished too. Three years ago, Jamie had been abducted by his father, and since then nothing. No letters, no phone calls, no word, no son.
According to recent figures, about a tenth of all missing children are abducted and of those, 95 per cent have been taken by a family member. Reunite, a charity that deals with parental child abduction, believes that around 350 children are abducted each year by a parent. And while abduction by a stranger - as in the Sarah Payne case - is still extremely rare, the figure for parental abduction is rising.
Between 1995 and 2000, there was an 87 per cent increase in abduction cases, according to Reunite.
A custody dispute is one of the major reasons for a parent abducting their child. 'A child might be abducted immediately after a court case,' says Reunite's David Huxley. 'Or if a couple are separated and have sorted out visiting rights, the child might go for a visit and never come back.'
Often, abduction is spurred by revenge rather than concern for the child's welfare. 'A parent may abduct their child not necessarily because they want to care for them, but as a way of getting back at their partner,' says David Huxley.
Home alone
It's something Catherine Meyer knows all too well. Her two children, Alexander, nine, and Constantin, seven, were abducted by her estranged husband in 1994. It was, she believes, his way of paying her back for leaving him. Today Catherine is president of Parents & Abducted Children Together (PACT), a non-profit-making organisation that campaigns on behalf of parents like herself.
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