Parental Abduction

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Parental abduction is the most common type of child abduction.

• Parental abduction occurs when a parent takes illegal custody of the child.
• Parental abduction is not dependent on geography.
• The parent, in other words, can commit child abduction while remaining in the city or state of residence simply by refusing to give the other parent access to the child when required by the law.

Parental abduction usually occurs when parents have separated or started divorce proceedings that could influence one of the parent's child custody rights. That parent might fear that he or she will not be able to retain custody rights, so he or she abducts the child as a last resort to remain in contact. Some parental abductions occur because one parent believes that a child will come to harm in the presence of the other parent, usually because of domestic violence or abuse. This often occurs when a parent refuses to give up custody at the end of an access visit.

According to a study conducted by the US Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 1999, a little more than half (53 percent) or children abducted by family members are only gone for a week or less. 21 percent of children abducted by family members are gone for one month or longer.