A desperate mother traveled 7,000 miles to search for her missing three-year-old son after he was allegedly kidnapped by his father.
Heartbroken Heather McArthur, 35, said she has not seen her son Jacob for four months, since he left her care to go on what was supposed to be a week-long trip with his father.
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Jacob and his father Jay flew to Vietnam on February 7 and were scheduled to return to Canada on February 15 in Toronto Police to say.
Heather said she received a “chance” email from Jay on the day he and Jacob were scheduled to return to Canada.
He explained that their son had a small outbreak of hives and that they would be in Vietnam longer than expected.
As she fought back tears, she told The Sun: “I felt a huge wave of emotion, which I should have done straight away.
“And then… you just go back to Earth and we go back to, ‘Okay, what are the next steps?'”
Heather said she flew to Ho Chi Minh City, where Jay has family, in early April and has been relentlessly pursuing her son ever since.
She said: “I was actually going to different addresses and honestly just approaching people.
“I have my son’s face on the phone [screen wallpaper] and he looks a lot like me and I would point it out, and… some of them would actually recognize my son and realize, yes, he was here.”
And a private investigator hired by Heather discovered a frightening photo of Jacob on the back of a motorcycle, with no shoes, no helmet and no shirt.
He was with two people Heather had never seen before.
The Toronto mother said she went to many police stations — but most were “not interested in taking reports from a foreigner.”
Encouraged by another mother she met while searching for Jacob, Heather set up a GoFundMe campaign to help your cause.
More than 200 people donated, collectively raising more than $25,000 (£14,500) and enabling her to launch legal proceedings in Vietnam.
Toronto Police released an image of Jacob’s father, Loc Phu “Jay” Le, 41, on May 7 and requested the public’s help in locating him as he was “wanted in a parental kidnapping investigation.”
Police said: “The man and his son were due to return to Canada on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
“The man and child did not return and the child has been denied to the mother ever since.”
Heather said Jay refused to send her a photo of Jacob or the rashes he claimed to have
And he began blaming financial issues — including Heather’s failure to pay child support or thousands in legal fees — as the reason the pair had not yet returned to Canada, Heather claims.
She told The Sun: “He said something like, ‘That would be a long way’.
“Referencing large amounts of money, like over $300,000. My son and I live in Toronto, at home, with government support.
“These were large sums of money to ask for.”
NO MORE CALLS
Although going door to door with photos of her son produced some “clues,” Heather said she had now reached a dead end.
She said: “At this point there is simply no idea of their whereabouts.
“I’m not sure they would still be in Ho Chi Minh.”
Heather said she knows her son and father are still in the country, based on information provided to her by Toronto Police and her lawyers.
She added: “Unless they left on a fake passport but their passports didn’t leave Vietnam.”
Some of the people Heather met while going door to door gave her “a little bit of hope,” even if they didn’t have “important information” about Jacob and where he might be now.
She said: “Seeing people who have seen my son feels like I’m on the right path, even if I’m not getting anywhere formally, or in any tangible way.
“I think when your son disappeared too… it’s been so long. My son left for the winter for Canada and now we are approaching summer.
“When I would open my phone, it would be full of photos of my son growing up, and now that’s not the case.”
Heather’s voice cracked as she continued, “People in Canada, whenever they saw us, they always said how similar we are.
“And so when I hold a photo, I can tell in people’s eyes that they know that’s my son and that I’m his mother.
“I think it’s just a Cool moment to be seen as your mother again, because it’s been a long time.”
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Heather’s focus is now on resting and working with her lawyers, as she believes her “hard work will begin” when she reunites with Jacob, as she supports him in “dealing with the experience.”
She said: “I don’t really know what his (Jay’s) end game is. I try not to think about it, because it worries me.”
Young Jacob loves to bake, cook and cut fruit — but he is also “vividly empathetic” and smart, his mother said.
Heather said, “He’s just the sweetest.”
Speaking directly to Jacob’s father, Jay, she begged: “I want you to bring Jacob home.
“I just want the best for our son, and I know our son misses his mom and I want to see him.
“I’m here and I would like Jacob to be handed over peacefully and for this to end.”
Toronto Police, who continue to lead the investigation, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Global Affairs Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency were working to get Jacob safely returned to Canada.
The investigating officer told The Sun that “efforts are being made to locate and return the accused to Canada for prosecution.”
Jay is wanted on a Canada-wide kidnapping warrant in violation of a custody order.
Police were able to confirm that he and Jacob arrived in Vietnam and did not attempt to leave the country.
Case is similar to the Alex Batty investigation
By Jessica Baker
The case of the disappearance of three-year-old Jacob Le has similarities to that of British boy Alex Batty, who disappeared at the age of 11 in 2017.
Alex, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, went missing after his mother and grandfather took him on holiday to Spain but were unable to return home.
His mother, Melanie Batty, who had no parental guardianship, took him to Spain on September 30, 2017.
They were due to return to England on October 8, 2017 – but never did.
An investigation was launched and, despite extensive inquiries by UK police and assistance from Spanish authorities, Alex remained missing.
On December 13 last year, Alex was spotted near Toulouse by a passerby and taken to a police station.
He was 17 when he ran away from his mother’s rented house in France, hoping to build a “better future” for himself.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
