kidnapped boy finds himself on internet

Missing for 14 years, teen finds himself on internet
Last Updated Mon, 16 Feb 2004 16:11:18
LOS ANGELES - Police in California want to reunite a 17-year-old with his father in Alberta after the teen found on the internet that he's been missing for 14 years.

The boy was surfing the web at a school in California several months ago when he found his own picture on a site about missing children.

Rhonda Morgan, executive director of the Missing Children Society of Canada, said the boy's teacher called a California family services agency.

The boy was apparently abducted from his home in Red Deer where he had been living with his father.

The boy's mother, 45, has been arrested by police in Los Angeles and is being held without bail. The RCMP want her extradited to Canada so she can face charges of child abduction.

"[The mother] was distraught, she was upset and crying," said Jimell Griffin, a deputy U.S. marshal in Los Angeles. "We were able to calm her down. She was concerned for her kid."

Griffin said the boy was also surprised and upset by the turn of events. "He was awfully emotional also," he said.

The boy's father had full custody of the boy in 1989 when he was abducted. The RCMP issued a nation-wide arrest warrant at the time.

The teen is in the custody of Child and Family Services in Los Angeles.

The boy's father, who still lives in Alberta, says he doesn't know if or when he'll be reunited with his son, who turns 18 in June.



Written by CBC News Online staff