Mum goes on run with custody battle son, 3
A MOTHER has disappeared with her three-year- old son after a court ruled she should hand him over to his father.
Rebecca ‘Becky’ Minnock, 35, is on the run with her son Ethan following a two-year custody battle with former partner Roger Williams, 39.
Police appealed for help to find them two weeks ago, but could not reveal the circumstances behind their disappearance from their home in Highbridge, Somerset, because of the reporting restrictions in such cases.
But in an unusual step yesterday, a judge revealed the full facts to help find Ethan and reunite him with his father, from nearby Burnham-on-Sea.
Judge Stephen Wildblood QC said: ‘Any assistance by the Press in finding out where he is will be gratefully received. It is really important that we work together – the court and the Press – to find where this child is.’
He was speaking at Bristol Crown Court, where Miss Minnock’s brother
‘The stakes are exceptionally high’
Marvin Shaw, 29, sister Limmie Shaw, 19, and mother Louise Minnock, 52, were appearing after their arrest on Sunday on suspicion of withholding information that would have enabled Miss Minnock and Ethan to be found.
Judge Wildblood said the relatives would face contempt of court and perjury charges if they were not ‘candid’ about what they knew.
He said: ‘If there’s any untruthfulness at this stage then it would be perjury. The stakes are now exceptionally high. We need to make sure this child is found.’
Mr Shaw and Mrs Minnock told the court they did not know where Miss Minnock and Ethan were and could not contact them. But the judge said he was ‘deeply suspicious’ that they had not revealed all they could.
‘I have suspicions that you know more,’ the judge told them. ‘The enquiries go on and Ethan will be found so the longer it lasts the worse it gets for everyone.’
Ethan, who was born in January 2012, has lived with his mother since his parents split up in February 2013. Legal proceedings between his parents began a month later when Mr Williams applied for contact with Ethan.
Magistrates ordered that he should have contact with Ethan in the presence of Miss Minnock from August 2013, but this broke down two months later.
In January 2014 Miss Minnock made allegations against Mr Williams. These were all rejected by a district judge in April 2014.
In February, a district judge found further allegations by Miss Minnock had been ‘fabricated’ to ‘frustrate contact’. Ethan began to spend four nights a week with his father and three nights with his mother after the hearing.
A child psychiatrist who saw Ethan said the boy had a ‘warm relationship’ with both parents.
On May 27, a district judge ruled that Ethan should live with Mr Williams after finding that Miss Minnock had made false allegations and obstructed contact between father and son.
But Miss Minnock and Ethan left their rented home that day and have not been seen since, despite a police investigation and a campaign by Mr Williams to find his son. She was last seen withdrawing cash at Asda in Highbridge at 8.17am that morning.
The mother- of- one, who does not drive, was taken off in a black Ford Focus, which appeared to head for Cheltenham, where members of her family live. Giving evidence yesterday, her mother said Miss Minnock had been ‘very upset’ about the court case on May 27, adding: ‘She said she had had enough of being failed. She knew what was going to happen in court.
‘I think Ethan was going to his father and after a couple of weeks she would get a call from Ethan and maybe supervised access. I thought it was disgraceful. She did say she was frightened.’
Mr Shaw said he had received three short calls from his sister from a withheld number, adding: ‘She said she was safe and well and Ethan was safe and well.’
The judge told Mr Shaw: ‘They are, in effect, on the run. They can’t claim benefits because if they do they will be found.’
Miss Minnock is 5ft 3in, of medium build, with dark hair. Ethan is blond with blue eyes. Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.