Mother accused of abducting son released

Awoman accused of abducting her son and fleeing to Central America more than three years ago has been released from custody. The mother of the four-year-old boy was released Wednesday following a bail hearing in Lethbridge provincial court, in which she was ordered to surrender her passport and remain in the province.

Although evidence presented during the bail hearing — it began last week but was adjourned to Wednesday for a decision — cannot be published, police earlier reported the pair had been on the run for more than three and a half years after the mother allegedly abducted the boy, who was 11 months old at the time.

On Jan. 6, 2014 the woman’s ex-husband reported she had fled the country with the couple’s son and wasn’t planning to return. The father said he had received a text message from her family and she had failed to drop the boy off for a court-ordered visit.

Two days later the father was granted sole interim custody. A court order was sent to the mother via email, as well as to members of her family, stating the child had to be returned immediately.

Police said they made numerous attempts to contact her, urging her to return to Canada, but she did not respond. On Feb. 5, 2014 she was charged with child abduction and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Police tracked the woman and child to Mexico, Guatemala and various parts of Belize, and the mother was the subject of various international Interpol alerts and the boy was listed with numerous missing children organizations.

The mother was deported last Wednesday to the U.S. where she was arrested upon landing in Houston, Tex., and then subsequently returned to Canada. She was taken into custody by Lethbridge police at the Calgary International Airport.

Although ordered not to leave the jurisdiction of the court, the woman has permission to attend a funeral next week in another province. She was also ordered to live with her brother and sister-in-law, attend court when required, report weekly to the Lethbridge Police Service, and not to contact or go near her ex-husband.

Judge Jerry LeGrandeur didn’t make a ruling on access to her son, but said that would likely be a decision made by a family court judge. The matter returns to court Sept. 20. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter