Approximately 400 parental abductions are reported each year in Canada. Despite our common misconceptions, a child that has been abducted by a parent is not necessarily safe and “okay.” In addition to being deprived of the love of the other parent, a child in this situation is at risk of neglect, abuse and crime.
Prevent Parental Abduction Ideally, you should make every attempt to cooperate with the other parent and act in the best interest of the child. If, however, you and the other parent disagree over custody agreements, visitation arrangements, etc., you should seek counselling or legal advice.
Ensure you have current information about the other parent including information about their job, family, friends (here and in their home country if they are from a foreign country), as well as identifying numbers such as passport and drivers license numbers, immigration information, visas and permits and current residence or living arrangements.
If trips have been made recently back to the other parents originating country, make note of airlines used and other travel details.
Be prepared in the event you have to travel to search for and recover your child(ren) i.e. have a zero balance credit card, update your own passport, and so on.