worldwide pedophile ring...
Canadian police were part of a massive operation that busted an alleged
web pedophile ring with more than 300 members worldwide.
The London-based Child Exploitation and
Online Protection Centre (Ceop), which led the operation, said a
number of children had been rescued from abuse.
The key suspects were from the U.K. and a number of arrests
had been made, Ceop chief executive Jim Gamble said.
"The CEOP Centre can confirm it is currently engaged in a live
investigation relating to an online area believed to be used by a
significant number of individuals with a sexual interest in
children," Ceop said in a statement.
Ceop spokesperson Sarah Shakespeare told CTV.ca that
Canadian officers, along with those from Britain, the U.S., and
Australia, were involved in the undercover operation.
But Ceop could not provide further details, saying the
investigation is ongoing with the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) and
that authorities continue to work to identify and trace suspects.
"For this reason, we are unable to disclose further details, or
an arrest breakdown at this stage. However we can confirm this
inquiry relates to suspects both in the U.K. and abroad," Ceop said.
The British-led VGT is made up of a partnership of agencies from
around the world, including the RCMP, that works together to
protect children from online child abuse.
Gamble said since Ceop was set up last April, its work has led
to 27 predatory pedophiles being placed into custody and
about 70 children safeguarded from abuse.
It also has 18 investigations currently under way to identify
child sex victims from clues given away in abuse photographs.
Ceop is a government agency affiliated to Britain's Serious
Organized Crime Agency.
The news coincides with a major VGT conference that has
opened in Washington, DC.
Earlier this month, Austrian investigators announced they
uncovered one of the largest Internet child-porn rings in
history, involving 2,300 people and possibly more than
100 Canadians.
Toronto police say with advances in storage and online
technology, the amount of child pornography being seized
by police is skyrocketing.
Det. Sgt. Scanlan of the Toronto child exploitation section
said investigators viewed about two million such images
last year alone.
It is comforting to know some of our police are busy
trying to make a difference in this world...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Ash wednesday and Our Canadian Troops...
Today is Ash Wednesday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2007.
There are 313 days left in the year.
A growing segment of Catholic youths is returning to old
religious traditions, such as observing Lent, in order to
reconnect with their faith, according to Catholic experts.
Today marks Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a
Today marks Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a
traditional period of penance for Christians leading up to
Easter. Practitioners typically give up something dear to them to mark
their faith -- whether a favourite food, hobby or vice.
Traditionally, Lent includes days of fasting and abstinence.
I am having a difficult time deciding what to give up..
smoking is my #1 position now except I DONT SMOKE...
if thats no good i will give up pancakes...hate them anyway
But its really about giving up something u value. hmmmmmm
gonna have to think on this one.
But while I am thinking of this I want to also honor
our Canadian Troops
where ever they may be and say...
"I am thinking of you all"
Monday, February 19, 2007
News update on my growing family...
On Feb14 I was blessed with another grandson
Elijah Patrick Wheeler
8lbs 11 ozs of him ...
Lighting this candle in memory of my Grandson....
Who passed away from SIDS in April and whose 1st birthdayit would have been today.
Nathaniel Gerald Wheeler....
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
SCARED MONKEYS HAS IT ALL...
Paulus Van Der Sloots attempts to get “restitution” for being
detained in the Natalee Holloway disappearance has been
shot down by the Supreme Court in Aruba.
THE ONLY THING ARUBA HAS DONE RIGHT.....
QUESS WHAT!
THEY ARE MAYBE GETTING SMART FINALLY?
detained in the Natalee Holloway disappearance has been
shot down by the Supreme Court in Aruba.
THE ONLY THING ARUBA HAS DONE RIGHT.....
QUESS WHAT!
THEY ARE MAYBE GETTING SMART FINALLY?
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
'Dr. Phil' lawyer responds to suit over Natalee Holloway segment
LOS ANGELES
An attorney says two brothers who filed a defamation
lawsuit against the "Doctor Phil" show for airing a segment about
their roles as former suspects in the disappearance of
Natalee Holloway should not be entitled to punitive damages.
Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, both residents of Aruba, filed the suit
in December seeking unspecified damages against talk show host
Phillip McGraw, C-B-S Television Distribution Group and private
investigator Jamie Skeeters.
William Haggerty, an attorney for McGraw and C-B-S, denied his
clients intentionally misrepresented any fact to the brothers or
acted with malicious intent.
An attorney representing the brothers was unavailable for
comment.
Holloway, a Mississippi native, was 18 when she
disappeared on May 30th, 2005, while on a trip to
Aruba with classmates from Mountain Brook high
school.
She was last seen getting into a car with the brothers
and their friend, Joran van der Sloot.
Police spent months searching for the missing teen, but the case
did not lead to any criminal trial in Aruba.
The brothers were released from police custody following
their arrest and have not been charged in the case.
AND THE CASE GOES ON...
LOS ANGELES
An attorney says two brothers who filed a defamation
lawsuit against the "Doctor Phil" show for airing a segment about
their roles as former suspects in the disappearance of
Natalee Holloway should not be entitled to punitive damages.
Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, both residents of Aruba, filed the suit
in December seeking unspecified damages against talk show host
Phillip McGraw, C-B-S Television Distribution Group and private
investigator Jamie Skeeters.
William Haggerty, an attorney for McGraw and C-B-S, denied his
clients intentionally misrepresented any fact to the brothers or
acted with malicious intent.
An attorney representing the brothers was unavailable for
comment.
Holloway, a Mississippi native, was 18 when she
disappeared on May 30th, 2005, while on a trip to
Aruba with classmates from Mountain Brook high
school.
She was last seen getting into a car with the brothers
and their friend, Joran van der Sloot.
Police spent months searching for the missing teen, but the case
did not lead to any criminal trial in Aruba.
The brothers were released from police custody following
their arrest and have not been charged in the case.
AND THE CASE GOES ON...
Sunday, February 11, 2007
National Missing Children’s Day
National Missing Children’s Day
May 25th, 2007
In 1986, the Solicitor General of Canada declared May 25th to
be Missing Children's Day in Canada. The Missing Children's
Network is inviting all Quebecers to join them in their continuing
quest to bring missing children safely home. We invite you to help
us light the way home for all missing children by keeping a candle
burning for 24 hours on May 25th.
Thank you for always keeping these children and their families
in your hearts and prayers.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Karla Homolka? Leanne Teale? Whatever?
Amid report that killer gave birth to boy, attorney general
says Niagara police would seek court order if she came back
February 10, 2007
Isabel Teotonio
Rob Ferguson
Sean Gordon
staff reporters
If schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka decides to return to Ontario, with
or without a child, Niagara Region police will gather evidence with
an eye to seeking a recognizance order to guard public safety, Attorney
General Michael Bryant said yesterday.
His comments came on the heels of reports Homolka gave birth
Feb. 3 to a seven-pound boy at a Montreal hospital.
"The last contact that Niagara police had with her was that she
expressly was not going to come into this province," Bryant said
at a Liberal policy conference in Niagara Falls.
He would not comment on whether authorities would take steps to
remove a child from her care should she come back to her home
province.
"We have no evidence that she's coming here," he said,
adding, "actually, I have no evidence that she's had a kid."
According to an anonymous letter sent to
Journal de Montréal, Homolka was admitted to St. Mary's
Hospital Jan. 30, but was sent home hours later after her
contractions proved to be false labour.
The letter said hospital staff recognized Homolka and refused
to treat her.
On Feb. 2, she was readmitted, under the name
Leanne Teale, and gave birth the following day.
The birth was a complicated one, with the baby's umbilical
cord rolled up around his neck, an anonymous source at the
hospital's mother-child unit told the newspaper.
It's believed Homolka, 36, was released from the hospital, which
is located in a residential area northwest of downtown
Montreal near St. Joseph's Oratory, on Monday morning.
The report says Homolka met the baby's father through
her former lawyer, Sylvie Bordelais, and they plan to
marry in the Antilles islands as soon as they can get a passport
for their son.
Bordelais did not return the Toronto Star's calls, but yesterday
told the TVA television network suggestions Homolka is
living in a bungalow on Montreal's South Shore are
inaccurate, as is the intimation she introduced her to the
child's father.
Calls to Homolka's parents in St. Catharines went unanswered
yesterday.
According to Quebec's Order of Nurses, the hospital is conducting
an internal investigation into a complaint Homolka was turned
away when she tried to check in. "We don't have any reason to
believe at this point that any discrimination has occurred," said
spokesperson Chantal Charron. The order's disciplinary
committee has been in contact with the hospital, Charron told
the Star.
Tim Danson, lawyer for Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, the
teens slain by Homolka and her former husband Paul Bernardo
in 1991, said yesterday the parents are despondent by recent reports.
"There's a very disturbing irony to all of this," said the Toronto
lawyer. "They'll never be grandparents from Kristen and Leslie, and
won't have a normal life.
And, here's Karla Homolka who's free and giving birth – that's the
disturbing irony."
Homolka served 12 years in prison for the sex murders of both
teens as well as the fatal drug rape of her sister, Tammy, 15.
She was released from prison in July 2005 and made her
home in Joliette, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. Five months
later, a Quebec Superior Court justice lifted court-imposed
conditions placed on her freedoms.
JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE?????
says Niagara police would seek court order if she came back
February 10, 2007
Isabel Teotonio
Rob Ferguson
Sean Gordon
staff reporters
If schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka decides to return to Ontario, with
or without a child, Niagara Region police will gather evidence with
an eye to seeking a recognizance order to guard public safety, Attorney
General Michael Bryant said yesterday.
His comments came on the heels of reports Homolka gave birth
Feb. 3 to a seven-pound boy at a Montreal hospital.
"The last contact that Niagara police had with her was that she
expressly was not going to come into this province," Bryant said
at a Liberal policy conference in Niagara Falls.
He would not comment on whether authorities would take steps to
remove a child from her care should she come back to her home
province.
"We have no evidence that she's coming here," he said,
adding, "actually, I have no evidence that she's had a kid."
According to an anonymous letter sent to
Journal de Montréal, Homolka was admitted to St. Mary's
Hospital Jan. 30, but was sent home hours later after her
contractions proved to be false labour.
The letter said hospital staff recognized Homolka and refused
to treat her.
On Feb. 2, she was readmitted, under the name
Leanne Teale, and gave birth the following day.
The birth was a complicated one, with the baby's umbilical
cord rolled up around his neck, an anonymous source at the
hospital's mother-child unit told the newspaper.
It's believed Homolka, 36, was released from the hospital, which
is located in a residential area northwest of downtown
Montreal near St. Joseph's Oratory, on Monday morning.
The report says Homolka met the baby's father through
her former lawyer, Sylvie Bordelais, and they plan to
marry in the Antilles islands as soon as they can get a passport
for their son.
Bordelais did not return the Toronto Star's calls, but yesterday
told the TVA television network suggestions Homolka is
living in a bungalow on Montreal's South Shore are
inaccurate, as is the intimation she introduced her to the
child's father.
Calls to Homolka's parents in St. Catharines went unanswered
yesterday.
According to Quebec's Order of Nurses, the hospital is conducting
an internal investigation into a complaint Homolka was turned
away when she tried to check in. "We don't have any reason to
believe at this point that any discrimination has occurred," said
spokesperson Chantal Charron. The order's disciplinary
committee has been in contact with the hospital, Charron told
the Star.
Tim Danson, lawyer for Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, the
teens slain by Homolka and her former husband Paul Bernardo
in 1991, said yesterday the parents are despondent by recent reports.
"There's a very disturbing irony to all of this," said the Toronto
lawyer. "They'll never be grandparents from Kristen and Leslie, and
won't have a normal life.
And, here's Karla Homolka who's free and giving birth – that's the
disturbing irony."
Homolka served 12 years in prison for the sex murders of both
teens as well as the fatal drug rape of her sister, Tammy, 15.
She was released from prison in July 2005 and made her
home in Joliette, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. Five months
later, a Quebec Superior Court justice lifted court-imposed
conditions placed on her freedoms.
JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE?????
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Say it ain't so: Karla's a mom
Karla Homolka helped take three children's lives.
Now she may have created one.
Details are sketchy, but it appears the freed schoolgirl
Now she may have created one.
Details are sketchy, but it appears the freed schoolgirl
killer may have secretly had a baby.
Rampant rumours, tips and a string of circumstances
Rampant rumours, tips and a string of circumstances
suggest that Homolka is now married and, in the past
few days, gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in a Montreal
hospital.
If all of this is true, it appears that the fantasy she held for
If all of this is true, it appears that the fantasy she held for
NOTE,,,
Homolka's apparent motherhood is even more outrageous, considering
that a Quebec judge initially ordered her to stay away from children
fter her July 2005 release from Joliette prison. That condition, however,
and several more, were overturned upon appeal last summer.
IS THIS BABYS LIFE AT RISK?????????
READ THE LINK...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Hello All....
Yes its been quite awhile since I have been here
and yet I have not forgotten Natalee Holloway or
her family grief.
The story has not died Parents Of Natalie Holloway File
Wrongful Death Suit Against The Kalpoe Brothers
and we anxiously await the verdict...
WHAT HAPPENED TO NATALEE HOLLOWAY?
and yet I have not forgotten Natalee Holloway or
her family grief.
The story has not died Parents Of Natalie Holloway File
Wrongful Death Suit Against The Kalpoe Brothers
and we anxiously await the verdict...
WHAT HAPPENED TO NATALEE HOLLOWAY?
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Have I forgotten Natalee Holloway?
Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old graduate ofMountain Brook High School in Birmingham, Alabama,
traveled to the Caribbean island of Aruba with 125
members of her senior class.
On Monday, May 30, 2005, she did not show up for her flight
back to the United States.Witnesses said Natalee was last
seen leaving a nightclub in a car with three
males -- Joran Van Der Sloot, 17; Deepak Kalpoe, 21,
and Satist Kalpoe, 18. The three originally told authorities
that they dropped the Alabama honors student at the
hotel where she was staying, but their story has changed
many times since the early days in the search
for Natalee Holloway
NO ARUBA WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTON!!!!
JORAN, SATISH AND DEEPAK
WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN!
!!!!!!JUSTICE!!!!!!
Sask. father guilty of second-degree murder
Sask. father guilty of second-degree murder
Updated Fri. Jan. 19 2007 11:31 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A father who shot to death his teenage daughter's drug-dealing
boyfriend has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
The eight jurors, who had been deliberating since Wednesday,
also recommended that 50-year-old Kim Walker be eligible for
parole after 10 years -- the most lenient possible sentence.
Justice Jennifer Pritchard agreed, telling Walker: "You're a
desperate man and no doubt the hearts of most parents reach
out to you. But you wrongfully killed this man."
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life imprisonment
sentence. .........
Several residents in the small Saskatchewan community of
Yorkton had shown their support for Walker, who shot convicted
drug-dealer James Hayward, 24, in March 2003. Hayward
bled to death in his own home.
Walker's daughter, Jadah, had been taking morphine with
Hayward. She was 16 at the time and had struggled with
drug addiction.
**************************************************
Well this is one way of dealing with this problem...
Bet he wished he tried the other....
Updated Fri. Jan. 19 2007 11:31 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A father who shot to death his teenage daughter's drug-dealing
boyfriend has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
The eight jurors, who had been deliberating since Wednesday,
also recommended that 50-year-old Kim Walker be eligible for
parole after 10 years -- the most lenient possible sentence.
Justice Jennifer Pritchard agreed, telling Walker: "You're a
desperate man and no doubt the hearts of most parents reach
out to you. But you wrongfully killed this man."
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life imprisonment
sentence. .........
Several residents in the small Saskatchewan community of
Yorkton had shown their support for Walker, who shot convicted
drug-dealer James Hayward, 24, in March 2003. Hayward
bled to death in his own home.
Walker's daughter, Jadah, had been taking morphine with
Hayward. She was 16 at the time and had struggled with
drug addiction.
**************************************************
Well this is one way of dealing with this problem...
Bet he wished he tried the other....
Sask. father guilty of second-degree murder
Sask. father guilty of second-degree murder
Updated Fri. Jan. 19 2007 11:31 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A father who shot to death his teenage daughter's drug-dealing
boyfriend has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
The eight jurors, who had been deliberating since Wednesday,
also recommended that 50-year-old Kim Walker be eligible for
parole after 10 years -- the most lenient possible sentence.
Justice Jennifer Pritchard agreed, telling Walker: "You're a
desperate man and no doubt the hearts of most parents reach
out to you. But you wrongfully killed this man."
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life imprisonment
sentence. .........
Several residents in the small Saskatchewan community of
Yorkton had shown their support for Walker, who shot convicted
drug-dealer James Hayward, 24, in March 2003. Hayward
bled to death in his own home.
Walker's daughter, Jadah, had been taking morphine with
Hayward. She was 16 at the time and had struggled with
drug addiction.
**************************************************
Well this is one way of dealing with this problem...
Bet he wished he tried the other....
Updated Fri. Jan. 19 2007 11:31 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A father who shot to death his teenage daughter's drug-dealing
boyfriend has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
The eight jurors, who had been deliberating since Wednesday,
also recommended that 50-year-old Kim Walker be eligible for
parole after 10 years -- the most lenient possible sentence.
Justice Jennifer Pritchard agreed, telling Walker: "You're a
desperate man and no doubt the hearts of most parents reach
out to you. But you wrongfully killed this man."
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life imprisonment
sentence. .........
Several residents in the small Saskatchewan community of
Yorkton had shown their support for Walker, who shot convicted
drug-dealer James Hayward, 24, in March 2003. Hayward
bled to death in his own home.
Walker's daughter, Jadah, had been taking morphine with
Hayward. She was 16 at the time and had struggled with
drug addiction.
**************************************************
Well this is one way of dealing with this problem...
Bet he wished he tried the other....
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Canadian Musical Group....
www.oncejust.com
CHECK OUT THIS GROUP...
it's streaming at www.oncejust.com
WISHING THIS GROUP A HAPPY NEW YEAR
AND A PROSPEROUS 2007!!
Idiot Films Saddam's execution...
Video: Saddam Hussein Execution Video
Released
Sunday, 31 December 2006, 7:09 am
Article: Scoop Video
Scoop Video: Saddam Hussein Execution Video Released
Scoop Video: Iraqi state television has released video footage
of the minutes leading up to the execution of former
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The execution took place shortly before 6am (03:00 GMT) on
Saturday at an Iraqi miltary facility in northern Baghdad.
Iraqi television later showed footage of Saddam being
placed in a noose by hangmen, cutting away just before his
execution...
Trust something like this to happen Huh!!!!!!
Unfortunately the tip came too late and it looks like
the video has been removed...
BUT KEEP WATCHING GUYS...
Released
Sunday, 31 December 2006, 7:09 am
Article: Scoop Video
Scoop Video: Saddam Hussein Execution Video Released
Scoop Video: Iraqi state television has released video footage
of the minutes leading up to the execution of former
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The execution took place shortly before 6am (03:00 GMT) on
Saturday at an Iraqi miltary facility in northern Baghdad.
Iraqi television later showed footage of Saddam being
placed in a noose by hangmen, cutting away just before his
execution...
Trust something like this to happen Huh!!!!!!
Unfortunately the tip came too late and it looks like
the video has been removed...
BUT KEEP WATCHING GUYS...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Saddam Hussein Dead...
Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq
with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was
driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in
shambles, was taken to the gallows and executed Saturday,
Iraqi state-run television reported.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed
three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies
and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a
stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious
sectarian conflict.
Also hanged were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim
and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the
Revolutionary Court. State-run Iraqiya television news
announcer said "criminal Saddam was hanged to death and
the execution started with criminal Saddam then Barzan
then Awad al-Bandar."
JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!!
with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was
driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in
shambles, was taken to the gallows and executed Saturday,
Iraqi state-run television reported.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed
three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies
and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a
stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious
sectarian conflict.
Also hanged were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim
and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the
Revolutionary Court. State-run Iraqiya television news
announcer said "criminal Saddam was hanged to death and
the execution started with criminal Saddam then Barzan
then Awad al-Bandar."
JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!!
Monday, December 25, 2006
MOTHER MISSING!
TORONTO — A Canadian woman and her family are missing after
she went to retrieve her two daughters in Lebanon where her
husband had taken them.
In a child disappearance case spanning three continents and
six months, Melissa Hawach and her father, Jim Engdahl, have
not been heard from since Dec. 21, when she grabbed her
daughters, Hannah, 5 and Cedar, 3, from a hotel near Beirut.
Lebanese security officials said Sunday that the whereabouts
of Melissa Hawach and her two daughters are still unknown.
Also, it was not known whether the woman and her daughters
had left Lebanon via an illegal land crossing at the border
with Syria, the officials said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to
the media.
Hawach's estranged husband, Joseph Hawach, had taken
the girls to Lebanon — from where his family originally
hails — without her permission, said Rhonda Morgan,
executive director of the Missing Children Society of Canada.
Morgan said Sunday she was waiting to hear from
Melissa Hawach adding that she wanted her daughters
back in Canada by Christmas. "That was the goal," she said.
Catherine Gagnaire, a spokeswoman for Canada's
Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, said it had been
providing assistance to Melissa Hawach since July but
did not know whether they still had contact or whether
they were returning to Canada.
Joseph Hawach had secured his estranged wife's approval
to take the children to visit his family in Australia in July
and was to return the girls to Melissa , who has custody, in
August.
Near the end of the vacation, her husband stopped
answering her calls. She called her in-laws and was told
by them that he had left the country and would not be
returning with the girls, Morgan told The Associated Press.
"That started a huge search. At first we didn't know where
they were. Then there were rumors that Joe and the girls
and his mother had gone to Lebanon at the height of the
Lebanon-Israeli war in the summer," Morgan told the AP
on Saturday. "We couldn't confirm that, but eventually
there was an address location confirmed for Joe and
the girls just north of Beirut."
Australian court records show that during a Nov. 29
preliminary hearing in a legal action Melissa Hawach filed
against her husband's family in New South Wales state
Supreme Court, Joseph Hawach's brother, father and
uncle told the court that the children had been taken
to Lebanon.
"He's expressed an intention to stay," court records
quoted Hawach's brother, Pierre Hawach as saying
while recalling a phone conversation he had with his
brother. "He said, 'I'm not coming back'."
Hawach's family in Australia could not be reached
Sunday for comment.
Melissa Hawach had retained lawyers in Lebanon,
Canada and Australia, and had been told that similar
cases in the country had favored the wronged spouse,
despite the fact that Lebanon was not a party to an
international treaty on the return of abducted children.
However, she later learned that the process could drag
on for as long as two years in Lebanese court, said Morgan.
"Melissa didn't go over there with the intention of the
re-abduction of the kids. She went over there to go
through the courts," said Morgan. "She did everything in
her power to do the right thing and was basically left with
no other alternative."
With the hope of speeding along the process,
Melissa Hawach, who had traveled to Australia twice
since the girls disappeared, left for Lebanon in the middle
of December and checked into the same hotel.
She spent several days watching the girls from a distance
as they played with other children in the compound and,
upon learning that the surveillance team she hired was
returning home for the Christmas holiday, decided she
could not leave without the girls, according to Morgan.
Morgan added that Melissa Hawach decided she would
approach the girls and, if they wanted to come with her,
would take them to the Canadian embassy in Lebanon.
"She went to the hotel and, when the girls came down,
she called out to them and they apparently ran to her,"
said Morgan, citing testimony from unidentified witnesses
at the hotel. She then took them away in a waiting vehicle,
said Morgan.
The officials said the New Zealander and Australian who
helped Melissa Hawach recover her daughters are still in
Lebanese police custody for their alleged role in the
kidnapping of the two children without their father's
knowledge and attempting to leave Lebanon after
finishing their job.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
said that a 38-year-old man was detained in Beirut on
Dec. 21 and is being provided with consular assistance
she went to retrieve her two daughters in Lebanon where her
husband had taken them.
In a child disappearance case spanning three continents and
six months, Melissa Hawach and her father, Jim Engdahl, have
not been heard from since Dec. 21, when she grabbed her
daughters, Hannah, 5 and Cedar, 3, from a hotel near Beirut.
Lebanese security officials said Sunday that the whereabouts
of Melissa Hawach and her two daughters are still unknown.
Also, it was not known whether the woman and her daughters
had left Lebanon via an illegal land crossing at the border
with Syria, the officials said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to
the media.
Hawach's estranged husband, Joseph Hawach, had taken
the girls to Lebanon — from where his family originally
hails — without her permission, said Rhonda Morgan,
executive director of the Missing Children Society of Canada.
Morgan said Sunday she was waiting to hear from
Melissa Hawach adding that she wanted her daughters
back in Canada by Christmas. "That was the goal," she said.
Catherine Gagnaire, a spokeswoman for Canada's
Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, said it had been
providing assistance to Melissa Hawach since July but
did not know whether they still had contact or whether
they were returning to Canada.
Joseph Hawach had secured his estranged wife's approval
to take the children to visit his family in Australia in July
and was to return the girls to Melissa , who has custody, in
August.
Near the end of the vacation, her husband stopped
answering her calls. She called her in-laws and was told
by them that he had left the country and would not be
returning with the girls, Morgan told The Associated Press.
"That started a huge search. At first we didn't know where
they were. Then there were rumors that Joe and the girls
and his mother had gone to Lebanon at the height of the
Lebanon-Israeli war in the summer," Morgan told the AP
on Saturday. "We couldn't confirm that, but eventually
there was an address location confirmed for Joe and
the girls just north of Beirut."
Australian court records show that during a Nov. 29
preliminary hearing in a legal action Melissa Hawach filed
against her husband's family in New South Wales state
Supreme Court, Joseph Hawach's brother, father and
uncle told the court that the children had been taken
to Lebanon.
"He's expressed an intention to stay," court records
quoted Hawach's brother, Pierre Hawach as saying
while recalling a phone conversation he had with his
brother. "He said, 'I'm not coming back'."
Hawach's family in Australia could not be reached
Sunday for comment.
Melissa Hawach had retained lawyers in Lebanon,
Canada and Australia, and had been told that similar
cases in the country had favored the wronged spouse,
despite the fact that Lebanon was not a party to an
international treaty on the return of abducted children.
However, she later learned that the process could drag
on for as long as two years in Lebanese court, said Morgan.
"Melissa didn't go over there with the intention of the
re-abduction of the kids. She went over there to go
through the courts," said Morgan. "She did everything in
her power to do the right thing and was basically left with
no other alternative."
With the hope of speeding along the process,
Melissa Hawach, who had traveled to Australia twice
since the girls disappeared, left for Lebanon in the middle
of December and checked into the same hotel.
She spent several days watching the girls from a distance
as they played with other children in the compound and,
upon learning that the surveillance team she hired was
returning home for the Christmas holiday, decided she
could not leave without the girls, according to Morgan.
Morgan added that Melissa Hawach decided she would
approach the girls and, if they wanted to come with her,
would take them to the Canadian embassy in Lebanon.
"She went to the hotel and, when the girls came down,
she called out to them and they apparently ran to her,"
said Morgan, citing testimony from unidentified witnesses
at the hotel. She then took them away in a waiting vehicle,
said Morgan.
The officials said the New Zealander and Australian who
helped Melissa Hawach recover her daughters are still in
Lebanese police custody for their alleged role in the
kidnapping of the two children without their father's
knowledge and attempting to leave Lebanon after
finishing their job.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
said that a 38-year-old man was detained in Beirut on
Dec. 21 and is being provided with consular assistance
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- Zarina
- Too many missing people. Too many BAD relationships. Too many errors in judgement. If the infomation on this site prevents 1 mistake it has accomplished something.
Bossco- Family addition 3months 2 weeks
Bossco again
The only time he is good...