After being kidnapped during a scheduled child visitation last summer and taken out of the United States by her mother, a young girl was recently reunited with her father in Europe.

The anticipated father-daughter reunion took place only after a concentrated effort by local, national and international authorities in an investigation that all began after a violation of court-ordered child custody order.

Parental abduction

The mother in the child kidnapping case had kept her secret for almost a year, until someone in Europe met the mother and her daughter. After chatting with them, the person felt that something didn't feel right with the mother's story. Using online resources, the individual discovered that the mother was hiding the daughter. The individual contacted the child's father in the U.S. The father immediately flew to Europe, but was unable to find and recover his daughter.

It was only upon the father's arrival back in the United States that a European attorney called to inform him that his child had been found. The mother was arrested in Europe is facing extradition and a felony charge of kidnapping for violating a custody agreement by taking her daughter out of the country.

A long-awaited homecoming

The father, who had lost hope after one fruitless trip to Europe, had not seen his daughter since her disappearance with her mother. But after the mother's arrest, the father returned to Europe and was reunited with his little girl. Today, the father, who had missed a long ten months with his daughter, says the only thing to do is to move forward with their lives.

Source: KWGN online, "Abducted Littleton girl, 5, found in Europe, mother faces charges," Tammy Vigil, 12 April 2011