For families with a missing child, special occasions and family holidays are among the most difficult times to bear. This past December, the Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) was determined to ensure a Kelowna family didn’t have to spend one more Christmas season without their children.
It had been nine months since Jonas and Jakob Nordgren were taken into the care of Montreal Children’s Services, and subsequently discovered that they had been abducted by their mother five years before from Kelowna, BC.
On Friday, December 18th, 2009, after months of costly court proceedings, a Quebec judge ordered the children be returned to the custody of their father and step-mother. The decision ended a long nine months in which the boys’ father had to travel to Montreal three times for court hearings, retain lawyers to represent them, and purchase clothing and articles for the boys while they were in foster care.
While the family was ecstatic to have the boys back, their mounting financial debts left them unable to afford flights to bring the boys back in time for the holiday season. They were a family "reunited", but still a country apart.
Through our Parent Support Program, MCSC took action to provide the family with flights and ensure they would be able to begin the healing process by enjoying the holiday season together.
On December 20th, 2009, the Nordgren family was reunited again at their home in Kelowna, with the new year - and a new future together - ahead of them.
"We are so proud to have been able to see this case through to the end and support a family who had already endured so much," said Amanda Pick, Executive Director of MCSC. "We couldn’t do this meaningful work without the dedication of our entire team, and the crucial support we receive from our donors and sponsors."
On behalf of all our searching families, we thank you for your continued support.