How does a seperated father find his daughter when his exdefacto looking after the child has run off with her?

Answer 1

Your going to have to give more information and please provide what state you live in, if you live in the USA.

If you have custody of the child even temporary then you have a case. Its called parental kidnapping.
I am unsure as to what the term "DEFACTO" means, but I am assuming here that it applies to your exspouse, although from what I have read it could mean anyone who has been a caregiver to your child or anyone who has stood in place of a parent to your child, as in "loco parentis".

If the defacto custodian was looking after your child, as in baby sitting or during a visitation took your child and failed to return her, you need to contact your attorney and the police. Once the visitation has ended this other parent should have returned the child. IF not she could face legal action from the courts.

http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/fs-9534.txt
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC) recommends that law enforcement officers
investigate allegations of abuse and parental kidnapping
separately and comprehensively. To neglect one charge in
favor of the other places children at risk. NCMEC's Missing
and Abducted Children: A Law Enforcement Guide to Case
Investigation and Program Management (1995) contains an
investigative checklist and a complete discussion of issues
associated with parental abduction investigations. In cases
where no civil custodial determinations are in place, NCMEC
recommends that investigating officers, at a minimum, enter
the child into the FBI's National Crime Information Center
(NCIC) Missing Person File. Once a State or local court
establishes custody, investigators may proceed with a
criminal investigation as appropriate.

Recognizing the possibility of custody violations when one
parent flees domestic violence, the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges' Family Violence Project
recommends the following four steps to law enforcement and
prosecutors:

1. Issue a warrant for the fleeing parent.

2. Ensure that there is an adequate investigation of the
potential impact of family violence on the flight.

3. Maintain existing child custody orders until such
investigation is complete.

4. Initiate orders to protect the children until final
resolution.

Federal Response

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), 28 U.S.C.
1738, authorizes the issuance of federal warrants for unlawful
flight to avoid prosecution in parental abduction cases. The
PKPA also provides access to authorized persons, including
law enforcement officers, to the Federal Parent Locator
Service. This service, which searches such Federal agency
databases as Social Security Administration, Internal
Revenue Service, and State Employment Agencies, can help
find abducting parents.

The PKPA authorizes the Federal Bureau of Investigation to
investigate parental kidnapping cases when an unlawful flight
to avoid prosecution (UFAP) warrant has been issued. FBI
investigation of parental abduction cases that cross state
boundaries can be crucial to the resolution of these crimes.

The Missing Children Act of 1982, Public Law 97-292, and
the National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990, Public
Law 101-647, prohibit policies that establish waiting periods
for police reports and require the entry of missing children
information into the NCIC database.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) has established a partnership with NCMEC.
Established in 1984, NCMEC provides lead information,
case management, photo distribution, age progression,
publications, and technical assistance to law enforcement,
prosecutors, parents, and other interested parties. NCMEC
maintains a toll-free hotline and works closely with local law
enforcement and state clearinghouses to prevent abductions,
find abducted children, and facilitate their return to the
custodial parent.

Additional Resources

OJJDP sponsors no-cost training for law enforcement and
prosecutors through Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC).
FVTC offers a three-day course, Missing and Exploited
Children, that presents advanced investigative and
interviewing techniques applicable to missing children cases.
For further information regarding this course, please call
FVTC toll-free at 1-800-648-4966.

OJJDP publications that provide additional information
regarding parental kidnapping include:

Obstacles to the Recovery and Return of Parentally
Abducted Children, American Bar Association (1995)

Parental Kidnapping, Domestic Violence, and Child
Abuse: Changing Legal Responses to Related Violence.
American Prosecutor's Research Institute (1995)

Charging Parental Kidnapping, American Prosecutors'
Research Institute (1995).

These publications may be obtained by calling the Juvenile
Justice Clearinghouse toll-free at 1-800- 638-8736.

Relevant NCMEC publications include:

Family Abduction: How to Prevent an Abduction and
What to Do if Your Child is Abducted, National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children (1994)

Missing and Abducted Children: A Law Enforcement
Guide to Case Investigation and Program Management,
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1995).

These publications may be obtained by calling NCMEC toll-free at 1-800-843-5678.

For further information regarding NCMEC, see National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, OJJDP Fact
Sheet #32, October 1995.
Ronald Laney is the Director of the Missing and Exploited
Children Program within the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001204----000-.html

http://www.convencaodehaia.com/psicologia/child_abuse2.htm
Until the recent passage of the Uniform ChiLd Custody Jurisdiction

Act this was the situation. Thus, just as it was difficult to

measure the extent of child abuse before it was viewed as a crime

and a social problem, it has been equally difficult to determine

the magnitude of parental kidnapping without a legal definition of

what parental kidnapping is, and a consciousness on the part of

victims that may have been victimized from the legal point of view,

not only from the psychological point of view, which they always

knew.


Until recently, a parent could "legally" kidnap a child by taking

the child out of the state where he or she did not have custody to

another state and obtain a favorable custody ruling. This practice,

called "forum shopping" or "court shopping", was possible because

of the state's failure to give full faith and credit to prior

decrees; unwillingness to practice the "clean hands" doctrine;

inclination to favor the local petitioner; and adherence to the

parens patriae 3 doctrine, which states that the court must be

primarily concerned with the child's best interest (although this

in itself has never been explicated properly in child stealing

cases).


In an attempt to avoid jurisdictional competition, the National

Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State-Laws drafted the

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act in 1968. To date, forty-

eight states have adopted the Act, 4 which provides uniform

guidelines for determining the proper forum for a custody hearing.

The federal Kidnapping Prevention Act (28 USC 1738A), which

requires nationwide adherence to UCCJA, was then signed into law in

1980 5. The Federal Act has three basic provisions: 1) it requires

all states to honor the child custody decisions of other states; 2)

it authorizes use of the Parent Locater Service; and 3) it

authorizes the FBI through the fugitive Felon Act to track parents

suspected of abducting their children.


There remain numerous unsolved problems with the federal

legislation, among them the fact that a child snatched prior to a

custody decree is not protected by the UCCJA, and that the

perpetrator must initiate a custody proceeding in another forum in

order for the UCCJA to be invoked. For these reasons and others

(Bodenheimer, 1978, Shutter, 1981), the new legislation, while a

step in the right direction, does not significantly alleviate the

problem of child stealing.

As a result of the lack of hard data about child stealing, we have

no reliable, scientifically generated statistics on the incidence

and "prevalence of child stealing; on demographic and psychological

characteristics of offenders, victims and children involved; on the

number and status of officially reported cases; and on the

psychological consequences of child stealing for the child, the

custodial parent and the new family. We have little about the

psychological profile of the parent perpetrator, nor do we know

about the effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies for families of child stealing.


http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?p=Parental+Kidnapping&ei=UTF-8&fr=my-vert-web-top&u=www.ndaa-apri.org/pdf/parental_kidnapping.pdf&w=parental+kidnapping&d=HhTwliQ8NSOn&icp=1&.intl=us

http://www.thecarsonlawfirm.com/mlw_parental_kidnapping.htm
Domestic Kidnapping
Kidnapping is a crime. Suspected kidnapping must be reported to the authorities immediately. Both the local police where the client lives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation must be notified. The local police may tell the client that they will contact the FBI when it is appropriate, but the client should call the FBI anyway. The client needs to feel like he or she is taking action, and this will help.

The client should specifically request the police to put out a "Be On the Look Out" or "BOLO" bulletin. The client should also ask that the child be entered into the National Crime Information Center Missing Persons File. There is no waiting period for children under the age of 18 to be included on this list. The client should ask the police to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to issue a "broadcast fax" to law enforcement agencies all over the country. Finally, the police, prosecutor or a judge may request that the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Federal Parent Locator Service be utilized to find the parent. Neither you nor your client can ask for this help – the request to use this service must be made by an authorized person such as a prosecutor, police officer or judge.

The client should contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This is an extraordinarily helpful clearinghouse of information and support, and they can assist with distribution of a photograph of the child (including on their website). They can also make referrals to local agencies that can help.

The client should talk to local law enforcement about enlisting the assistance of the media. If the police are not helpful in that regard, call the media yourself or have the client call. Do not limit yourself: call the television stations, the radio stations and the newspapers.

Refusal to Return The Child

The simplest kidnapping is a refusal to return the child after scheduled visitation or temporary visitation. The client knows where the child is, but the other parent refuses to return the child. If it is during the school year and the child goes to school, the client should pick up the child with or without the police and proceed to court to obtain injunctive relief. Of Course, this also constitutes contempt, and the court has the power to affect the custody provisions of a judgment in a contempt proceeding.

If the client is unable to secure the child, an application should be made for a writ of habeas corpus and/or a warrant in lieu of writ of habeas corpus. Remember that a writ of habeas corpus is an order to "produce the body" and the proceeding is one in which the person with custody of the child is ordered to appear, with the child, and show cause why the child should not be returned. Such cause may be that the child will be abused or kidnapped if returned, and if your client is the one withholding the child, he or she should have as much evidence as possible to support his or her position; including a call to the child abuse hotline and medical or psychological evaluation and/or treatment of the child.

If the client is concerned that the parent who has the child will disappear after being served with a writ of habeas corpus, a request may be made for a warrant in lieu of writ of habeas corpus. Such an order requires the immediate pick-up of the child by law enforcement authorities. If such an order is sought, be certain to coordinate with law enforcement and child welfare officials in the jurisdiction where the warrant is to be executed. It is likely that the police will not take custody of the child, so the juvenile court and the local Division of Family Services should be part of the planning process for service and execution of the warrant.

The failure or refusal to return a child at the end of court-ordered visitation or temporary custody constitutes the crime of interference with custody if there is a court order regarding custody in place (§S6S.1S0 RSMo) and you should talk with the warrant officer in the county where the incident occurred about whether charges will be filed. In many jurisdictions, such charges are unlikely to be filed. You should know the general guidelines followed in the counties where you practice so the client does not develop unrealistic expectations about criminal prosecution.

The refusal to return a child at the end of temporary custody or visitation can be the basis for an order that the non-custodial parent's rights be supervised and the refusal "to produce the child for temporary custody and visitation can be a basis for a transfer of primary custody. Advise the client to keep detailed notes of such events, irrespective of whether the parent is seeking time with the child or withholding it. Of course, the preferred reaction to concerns about the other parent having time with the child is to proceed to court and seek appropriate relief. A client who attempts to obtain legal relief for his or her concerns about the child spending time with the other parent and loses should be advised in detail of the ramifications of kidnapping or withholding the child, including possible criminal charges, contempt and/or modification of the custody order.

I really hope this helps you evaluate your situtation a bit more clearly. I dont know which side of the custody order that y ou stand on. However regardless of which side that it is, remember you have a right to have equal time with your child as well as to have the right to petetion for custody.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to hear of your situation. If there is nothing preventing you from seeing your child or your rights to your child (i.e. signed of your legal rights to her, currently serving time, restraining orders, etc), then this is what you need to do and quick.

First of all, if you have any legal papers such as a divorce degree, parenting plan, visitation guidelines, etc. that proves you have the legal rights to your child, take them to the police immediately. They will file a child abduction charge and pursue her. Give the police any and all information you have that will help them find them. Also, if your ex is recieving any welfare, it will definately be easy to trace. Credit cards, debit cards, checks, phone records, income taxes, anything that has a trace to her SSN can be used to track her. Family members and friends maybe able to help. Sooner or later she will come to visit them or contact them. Think back to any place that she has mentioned before. More than likely she will head to a place in which she has family or friends for support. The police will use this same method of tracking. They can freeze all of her accounts if needed to find out where she is.

Also, contact your attorney ASAP and tell him that you want to push for physical custody of the child. If your ex has only moved within the state, she is legal to do that (check with your attorney and local laws). But every case is different and unless you have it clearly stated that she is not to leave the area, your legal rights might be limited. In some states, she has to give a 30 day written notice of moving if she is leaving the zip code, county, or state. Every state has different laws concerning notification of the other parent.

The good news to all of this is this: if in fact your ex has violated the visitation guidelines or court orders, or if your ex took the child across statelines without your knowledge or consent, then you won. She will be given a black eye by the justice department and you will easily get custody of your child.

The bad news is, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to find them. I do hope and pray that you will be reunited with your daughter as soon as possible. I have come across many cases of such incidences and they are usually found. The time it takes to find them varies greatly. Sometimes as little as 12 hours, sometimes 12 years or more. Don't get discouraged and remember what you are fighting for, your daughter.

Good luck and God be with you.

Answer 3

Australian Resident?
Check the voting registration lists for her name. that gives you a location of where she is. use logic and work out whether she will send the child to a public or private school then find the closest one and contact them or drop in and check the school photos for your daughter.

Write a quick note with your email address on it (saying who you are of course) and get the school receptionist to deliver it to your child while at school. Then let her contact you - that way your ex cannot say you are stalking them as you have had no direct contact and have left the choice of contact up to your child rather than persuing her.

Most school students in primary school have access to email and ALL high school students have access to email, from inside the school, so your daughter can contact you without 'mum' knowing if need be.

Luck to you

Answer 4

Find the mother by checking social security records. Then check and see if the daughter is with the mother.

Contact mother's family.

Answer 5

hire a private investigtor