In several of our previous posts, we've raised the issue of child custody and international abduction. In some instances, one parent will flee the country with a child, in violation of federal law as well as a court-ordered child custody decree.

While the exact number of children adducted each year by a parent is unknown, estimations put the number somewhere around 1,500 in 2010. Only about a third of those children were found and brought back into the country. A spokesperson for the State Department noted that the number will likely continue to rise.

One man had been taking care of his daughter - he had been granted primary custody after a particularly bitter divorce. But one day his ex-wife had an unsupervised visit with the little girl. The unsupervised visit turned into an international abduction case when he discovered that his ex-wife had fled to Mexico with their daughter.

There are many other stories just like this man's. A parent takes the child out of the country during a court-approved visit. But unfortunately once the parent makes it across the border, complications arise and it becomes more difficult to get the child back.

But how are so many parents getting away with child abductions? One factor could be that there is no national database that keeps a record of child custody orders. Officials at the borders have no way of telling whether a parent should or should not be taking the child out of the country.

However, if a parent is caught leaving the country in violation of a custody order, he or she could spend the next three years in prison. It is against federal law to take a child out of the country in order to prevent the other parent from exercising his or her custody rights.

But are efforts being made to decrease the number of custody-related child abductions? Our next post will discuss that very question.

Source: Houston Chronicle online, "What happens if your ex abducts your child?" Stewart M. Powell, 04 July 2011