Family Stories

  • Megan’s Story
    It is not uncommon for Child Find to receive calls from parents who have experienced, or are currently enduring, abuse in their relationship with the other parent. These cases can be particularly challenging not only in terms of the toll the abuse takes on the victim parent and children, but also because of the various challenges presented by the systems …
  • Simon’s Story
    Simon contacted Child Find of America seeking assistance with what had become a developing international parental abduction case. He explained that he shared a young daughter, Mia, with his former partner, Ellie. Simon is a citizen of Austria, while Ellie and her family live in Georgia, where Mia was born. Mia holds dual citizenship, meaning she is legally recognized as …
  • Lily’s Story
    Lily contacted Child Find of America after discovering her ex-husband had disappeared with their son, Dominic. The following includes a brief account of her nightmarish experience and Child Find of America’s efforts to bring her son home safely. Lily and Alan met in church and began dating when she was 17 and he was 24, at a time when Lily …
  • A Family Abduction
    “I thought only strangers kidnapped children.” – David, age 8. When Michelle first called Child Find, she was emotionally exhausted and frustrated over her experience with law enforcement regarding the abduction of her sons, David, 8 and Darnell, 4. The boys had been missing for a month, taken suddenly by their grandparents who had abandoned their house and pets and were now somewhere on the road …
  • “I Want My Baby Back”
    Young mom Cerissa called Child Find concerned that her sister, Wendy, was refusing to return her 2-year-old daughter to her.  Cerissa had given her daughter, Jordan, into Wendy’s care a year previously due to an unstable living situation, but now that Cerissa had a safe, stable environment for Jordan to return to, Wendy – who was living over 500 miles …
  • Summer Break – Ted’s Story
    Ted, 20, was excited to be connected with his Parent Help case manager after calling the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s 4DAD-411 toll-free hotline (877-432-3411). Ted had been struggling to create a satisfactory co-parenting plan with his ex-girlfriend Janette, the mother of their only child, Danny. He contacted Parent Help to assist him in seeing his one-month-old son more often. At the …
  • The Long Journey Back – Adele’s Story
    Adele, a South African national, contacted Child Find’s Parent Help program from overseas stating she had previously been living in North Carolina with her husband, a U.S. citizen. When they lived in North Carolina, Adele believed that he had applied for a marriage-based green card for her.  By the time she realized this was not the case, she was already …
  • To the Dark Web and Back
    Missing children’s cases don’t often end tidily like a movie. The impact of parental abduction can have lasting negative effects on a child, and a parent’s effort to stabilize life is a messy affair. This story is no different, though its ending does offer us some hope and inspiration. Michelle opened her case after she had not seen her daughter …
  • International Abduction – Aaron’s Notes
    I think a lot of folks have the impression that international parental abduction is largely a matter remedied through the legal system. While it’s true that a solid court order can greatly reduce the risks, it often does little to assuage some parents’ concerns over that nightmare occurring, especially since restrictive family court orders so often are only temporary. One …
  • International Abduction – Shari’s Notes
    We’ve had some cases that are stark reminders of the differences in global practices and traditions as to how children are to be raised. I’ve spoken with many parents with children born and raised in the USA, but fearful that the other parent is planning to abduct the child to his or her country of origin. One mom was dealing …
  • International Abduction – Javier’s Notes
    As a Spanish-language case worker, many of my callers have strong ties to Mexico and other foreign countries, so it’s important to keep in mind the risk of international parental abduction.  When the abduction has already happened, options are more limited.  Many Spanish-language callers are also undocumented immigrants, which limits freedom of movement and—as they may perceive it—their access to …
  • International Abduction – Understanding the Hague Convention
    The main focus of Child Find of America’s Family Support program is to try to understand and alleviate co-parenting conflict, but often our callers make contact only after positions have hardened and the conflict is entrenched.  In some of the worst cases, international abduction becomes the “nuclear option”— the one to burn all bridges. Unfortunately, the circumstances that allow for it …
  • Custody, Divorce, Homelessness, and Abduction – A Complex Case
    Joyce called Parent Help when her husband David abducted their 9-year old son, Christian.  David and Joyce were living separately at the time of the abduction and Joyce was homeless with her other son, Jacob, in her care.  The custody situation was complex because Joyce and David had divorced in a tribal court (read more about tribal courts here), and …
  • Tribal Courts and Child Custody
    Child Find case workers assist families whose issues can be further complicated by falling under the jurisdiction of Native American tribal courts. While tribal courts enjoy a great amount of freedom in deciding minor criminal matters and civil disputes according to their own individual tribal customs and traditions, in general they tend to follow laws and procedures not so different from …
  • Rebuilding Relationships – X, Y, and Zoë
    Xavier called Child Find 3 months after his release from having been incarcerated for 13 months for selling narcotics. He expressed to Parent Help two goals: to be able to see his daughter, Zoë, and to eventually pursue avenues for gaining joint custody with Zoë’s mother, Yvonne. Xavier and Yvonne lived together for 3 years and then separated. Though they …
  • Safe, Settled, & Optimistic
    In the course of one of many conversations Dad had with his Child Find caseworker, he stated that he felt he would be soon keeping his promise to put his daughter on the phone to say hello after their five-year struggle to be together. All signs indicated that decisions made by the child’s home state family court and interstate child …
  • Caring For Your Teen When They Choose Their Other Parent
    Larraine called Child Find to report that her 15 year old daughter, Nell, had left home several weeks earlier after escalating arguments over discipline. Nell had been apprehended by the police and was now living with her father, but Larraine was still seriously concerned about her safety. Larraine shared that many of their confrontations centered on Nell wanting to hang …
  • Parenting Apart – Gaining Custody From Another State
    Cathy called Child Find seeking help in finding her 13 year old son, Chad, who had been abducted by his father, Michael. At the point in which she began working with Child Find, her local court in Virginia had already issued her an emergency order granting her full temporary custody of Chad under an order of protection, as Michael had …
  • Family Ties – Caryn, David, & Alan’s Story
    Alan left Caryn when they discovered that she was pregnant. When their son, David, was a few months old Caryn and Alan managed to come up with an agreement for Alan’s parenting time. However, he did not take advantage of his time with his son, nor was he contributing financially to David’s care. Parent Help discussed Caryn’s options with her. …
  • Left Behind, But Not Alone
    Child Find once received a call from Nicole, a mother in Texas of 3 young children – 2 of whom were abducted by their father. For several years, Nicole had been searching to no avail– tracking them as best she could through the internet, begging for assistance from law enforcement and legal authorities. After saving her money, Nicole was able …
  • Parenting Apart – Retaining Custody Through Divorce
    Abby was going through a divorce with her children’s father, Perry, when she called Parent Help. They had come to an agreement in which Abby would be given full residential and legal custody of their children on paper, with Perry still able remain involved in their lives. After hearing about two incidents in which there was a physical altercation between …
  • “His Nickname is Zac. He May Be in the Company of His Father”
    Sheryl was in counseling 3000 miles from home, feeling utterly hopeless and telling the social worker that she’d decided to give up, go home, and just hope that her son, Zac might be found and returned to her. At that very moment, her cell phone rang, and a representative of the LAPD was telling her that they had found and …
  • Parenting Apart – Steven’s Call
    Steven called Parent Help in April, 2010 because he was having problems with his fiancée, Janet. While Steven and Janet had been in a relationship for 3 years, it became apparent to Steven that Janet was a substance abuser, although she was able to keep her habit hidden from him for a full year. Janet assured Steven that she had …
  • Parenting Apart – Ernesto & Rosalinda
    Ernesto called because he had not seen his son, Carlos (age 11), in over four months. His divorce decree gave him weekend visits, however he was working on weekends. Ernesto and his ex-wife, Rosalinda, had a verbal agreement for father and son to spend time together on Thursday nights. Things had been fine for a while, but suddenly Rosalinda had …
  • Making a Parent Plan – Rafael & Mirabel
    Rafael and Maribel were not legally married. They were dating and had never lived together. They had a 4-week-old daughter together, and his ultimate goal in working with Child Find’s Parent Help program was to create a workable parenting plan without having to go to court. A caseworker contacted Rafael to learn a bit more about his situation, then emailed …
  • A Father’s Story – Runaway or Abduction?
    A father called Child Find because his 16-year-old daughter was last seen getting into a car with his ex-wife’s former boyfriend of 11 years. The father believed his daughter to be in danger as the former boyfriend was said to be distraught over the breakup. The father also feared he had “a very unhealthy attraction” to his daughter. The Child …
  • Getting Dads Back on the Right Track
    George Child Find received a call from George” a single dad with a 12-year-old son in his care. George had some legal problems and didn’t have a clue how to get through the system alone. George stated that over the years he had been working hard to recover from drug addiction and maintain steady employment in order to focus on …
  • International Mediation – Alma & Carlos
    In July 2008, Alma called seeking Child Find’s assistance in getting her children back from her estranged husband, Carlos. The case is on-going and has been very intricate, involving many issues including questions of state, national and international jurisdiction and dealing with domestic violence. It also emphasizes the necessity and effectiveness of the use of the telephone in Child Find’s …
  • Dezion
    For 4 long years, left-behind dad, Demetrius, had been searching for his 7-year-old daughter, Dezion, who had been taken away by her mom. Where other agencies had failed, Child Find’s caseworkers located Dezion in less than a month. However even though Dezion had been located, under interstate laws Demetrius had to undergo a home study before she could come and live …