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Mom Finds Kidnapped Children on Facebook, After 15 Years Apart
The San Bernadino Sun reports that after searching for her daughter's name on Facebook in March, Segala eventually got in contact with her long-lost child, who was living in Florida. The two exchanged messages, and the mother sent her now 17-year-old daughter old family photos to prove her identity. When Segala told the teenager she wanted to come back into her life, the teen reportedly bristled and promptly deleted her Facebook page.
The contact, however, was enough for the District Attorney to file felony charges against Utrera, who was later arrested by Osceola County, Florida deputies. Police, meanwhile, are already hailing the discovery as a shining testament to the unique power of social networking. "It's promising to know that there's a tool that if it's used properly it's working for this woman. It's just unfortunate that it took 15 years to find them," Montclair police Sergeant Ken Pollich told the San Bernadino Sun.
Unlike previous online reunions, though, this case seems fraught with complicated family dynamics. As a San Bernadino prosecutor told NBC Bay Area, the two teenage children had spent so much time away from their biological mother, they now "regarded another woman as their mother." And when Segala initially contacted her daughter on Facebook, she reportedly replied, "'Not interested in a relationship. We just have a happy life. Leave us alone.'"
With Utrera arrested on charges of kidnapping and violating child custody orders, mother and children must now work toward forging a relationship that's laid dormant for more than a decade. As Carrie Hoeppner, of the Florida Department of Children and Families, says, "There is no relationship there. You don't have that immediate joyful reunification...These children will have to build a relationship" -- even, apparently, if they don't want one. [From: San Bernadino Sun and NBC Bay Area, via: Newser]
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Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsCarneyJun 7th 2010 9:53AM
There's kidnapped, and then there's kidnapped. Headlines like this grab readers who think it was a stranger abduction. But the reality of a custody-battle loser running off with the kids is much less interesting.
CgyoungJun 7th 2010 10:17AM
With all due respect, Carney, there's "custody battle" and there's "one parent taking the children without the knowledge of the other". I was that kid. And let me tell you, "kidnapped" is most certainly the right word, let there be no mistake about it.
MandaJun 7th 2010 8:59PM
Cgyoung -- thank you for having the courage to step up and correct Carney's assertion here.
Not only were these kids taken away from a woman who obviously desperately wants and loves her children, but they were warped into thinking she was their enemy. Do you have any idea the kind of emotional trauma that's been inflicted upon this woman? Or the damage these kids have without even realizing it? By the time all is said and done, I see a freaking ocean-liner worth of therapy in their future. Especially once these kids realize that the man they love oh-so-much, is actually a lawless, inconsiderate, bastage.
And from the teenage daughters reaction, I would bet money that he's spent a fair amount of time brainwashing these children into hating their mother. That is NEVER healthy for a child, even if the parent they're being turned on IS still a part of their lives.
He could have followed the custody agreement and still seen them and not denied them their mother or potentially scarred them for life.
Shelley_M_BJun 8th 2010 12:22AM
It is nothing short of kidnapping...the parent that takes off with the kids is not always the best suited for certain. My mother took me at 8 years old and my 11 year old brother away from my father, brother, and sister. My oldest brother and sister were over 12 so they were able to choose to stay with my father. My mother fled the state and brought us to Louisiana to live in whatever dump she could put us in. Much of the time we had no water or electricity. CPS was called in more than a handful of times but they always gave her 2 weeks to change the conditions that we were in so she could keep us as her prisoners. She would get pissed off and beat us whenever she would get angry. She would not allow us to speak with our father or siblings. My mothers selfish actions DESTROYED the wonderful relationship that I remember having with my sister. I was so close to her that I called her mom and she was even the one who got me ready for school each day. My mother tried to brainwash me against my father and siblings but I was able to see through her lies by that age. It would be my worst nightmare to find my children gone and then find out that they have came to hate me because someone has fed them lies their entire lives. I hope he spends many years in prison thinking of what a horrific thing he has done to his children and their mother. She must have spent a lot of time thinking about her decision! March 2010. No doubt It would be a hard decision for anyone to make to uproot them)!!!!!! But they were living a lie!!! Who knows what kind of LIES they were told. Even if they were happy in their lives with him, he commited a TERRIBLE CRIME (he knew it was a crime no doubt and there would be jail time!!!) and has to face the consequences for it. That in itself would have uprooted the children. She couldn't have been too terribly bad or he would have went through the legal route to get the kids. Maybe they can develop some sort of relationship with their mother...it's so unfortunate that it was such a long time later!!!! He made the wrong choice not her...she loved her children obviously if she hadn't given up hope of finding them even 15 years later.
WhiteWolfChaos77Jun 8th 2010 1:00PM
If Segala really loved her kids, she would have waited until at least Jacqueline was 18, then contacted her daughter on the daughter's terms (not her own) and asked if she would like to have a relationship. Having the father arrested and forcing her nearly grown kids to live with her when they don't even know her will only destroy any chances she might have had at having a relationship with them.