My daughter was abducted from a hol kids club.. I’ve been shaking and in tears ever since
Mum suing Thomas Cook after claiming mystery woman walked off with Rose, 5
A MUM is suing Thomas Cook after her five-year-old daughter was “abducted” from a children’s club at a hotel in Turkey.
Janet Alexander, 46, said she feared Rose, five, was “dead or faced being trafficked and abused” after vanishing with a stranger.
The single mum had taken her and sister Lois, nine, to Royal Wings Hotel in Antalya in April for their first break abroad together.
She left Rose at a supervised play area and took Lois to a scuba diving lesson. But when she returned an hour later, Rose was missing and a “frantic” 20-minute search began.
The panic ended when another guest spotted Rose near the main road with a woman wearing a hijab.
Ms Alexander, a senior NHS nurse, said: “I was distraught. There was chaos as everybody started running around. This has been the most traumatic experience of my life. I thought my daughter was either dead or faced being trafficked and abused. I’ve been shaking and in tears ever since. I struggle to leave the kids at school now.”
Rose and the woman were brought back to the hotel but the woman then left.
Rose said she thought the woman, who invited her to “go for a walk”, was a play area worker.
Ms Alexander said hotel staff talked to the woman in Turkish but then failed to answer her questions about the incident, so she went to police.
Officers said they could do nothing as Rose was returned safely. The incident was reported to a Thomas Cook rep. But Ms Alexander, of Inverness, Scotland, said she has had little response, adding: “Thomas Cook have been a disgrace.”
She has launched a civil claim and is calling for improved safety standards.
Thomas Cook said it is offering support and an investigation is under way. The hotel insisted its children’s club was secure.
Simon Richards of Digby Brown Solicitors, pursuing the case, said: “The hotel breached its contractual duties. But Thomas Cook are ultimately responsible as it is the company who sold the holiday.”
I thought my girl was dead or faced being trafficked and abused JANET ALEXANDER ON FEARS DURING SEARCH