The Marriage
Harry
December 5, 2015
December 5, 2015, started out as a typical day. It was Harry’s weekend, and he had a great time with his children. At 5 pm, Jane came to pick the kids up. He had no idea that it would be the last time that he would hug his children goodbye for quite a while. Thomas must have sensed that something was off. When his mother came to pick him up, he didn’t want to leave with her. Crime Stoppers NSW believes that he had a sixth sense that something was about to come between him and his dad. According to Harry, Thomas claimed that he was sick. He was crying and holding onto Harry and didn’t want to leave with his mother. When both of the kids began to cry, Harry tried to comfort them by saying they would see him in just a few days.
Picking Up the Kids
A few days later, Harry went to his children’s school in Carindale which is an area of Brisbane. It was his day to pick the kids up and take them to his house. When he arrived at the school, he was shocked to hear that his children hadn’t been to school for days.
Calling the Police
Harry went right to the police. At first, they didn’t think too much about it. It wasn’t until February 17, 2015, that the official search for his children began. The Australian police weren’t sure that Harry’s children were even in the country anymore. As far as he knew, his kids didn’t have passports so he couldn’t figure out how they could have left the country.
Col Chapman
Harry knew that he needed someone to help. The police only had so many resources, so he went to a fellow Australian named Col Chapman who specialized in retrieving abducted children. Harry was sure that Jane’s family knew where she and the children were. He was sure because before the children disappeared, Jane was living with her mother. Harry followed up on every lead that he got. One of the leads even took him to Brazil. When he didn’t find his children in Brazil, he followed another lead that took him to London. He knew that his ex-wife held a British passport, so he decided to search there.
New Zealand
The next place that Harry traveled to was New Zealand. He knew that Jane had friends in a city there called Christchurch. This place was renowned for its English heritage. Harry knew that his wife was a huge fan of English culture; therefore, he thought that it would be a great place to check. Harry even spoke to his children through the local news. He wanted them to know that their daddy loves them. He was hoping that they would hear his message and
Creating a Facebook Page
Harry was tired of the dead-end leads and the wild goose chases, but he refused to give up. He decided to establish a Facebook page to spread the word about his search. Harry was very worried about Thomas and Serena. He knew that they had never registered for school which meant that they weren’t getting a good education. Their medical cards were never used either. This worried Harry because Serena had severe allergies.
Age Progression Photos
In 2017, American professionals make sketches to show how the kids would look today. They distributed the photos in hopes that someone would recognize Harry’s children. Three years to the day that Serena and Thomas disappeared, he posted to his Facebook account. He wrote, “Today I am reflecting on a monumental milestone in the timeline since the abduction of my children by their mother.” He mentioned how he had missed three Easters, three Father’s Days, and three Christmases. He discussed how his family missed them and that things would never be right until his children came home to him.
Progress
A few days after his Facebook post, the Australian Federal Police officers came to Harry’s door. He told them that Serena and Thomas were alive and they had been located in the Sunshine Coast. They were about 100 miles away from their last known location. Harry’s suspicions were correct, and Jane had abducted them.
Reuniting
It was 3 years after two children mysteriously vanished, police came to their desperate father’s door. They found his children and they were coming home to him. His ex-wife was in jail preparing for her court date for kidnapping. He updated his Facebook page, saying that his children coming home was the best Christmas present ever. Finally, his children were home with him. He says that he will hug them tight every day and won’t ever let them go.
