Nearly two decades ago, Dorothy Lee Barnett left her Isle of
Palms home with her infant daughter, flew oversees and started a new life,
according to federal authorities.
Barnett didn’t have custody of Savanna Catherine Todd in
1994, when she was accused of abducting the 10-month-old.
She married a man in South Africa, moved to New Zealand and,
five years ago, wound up in Australia, according to The Australian newspaper.
But her ex-husband, former Charleston stockbroker Benjamin
Harris Todd III, and his loved ones clung to a hope that they would see his
girl again. Todd had parted ways with Barnett before Savanna’s birth and had
been awarded custody of the unborn child.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation didn’t give up either.
Agents alleged that they came across evidence that Barnett tried using an alias
a decade ago to get an American passport. They knew she was still trying to
hide.
It was in the Australian state of Queensland where
authorities finally caught up with Barnett and Savanna on Nov. 4. The
53-year-old mother was arrested. The daughter, now 20, was “safe, healthy and
otherwise living a normal life,” U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said in a statement
announcing the development Thursday.
“The commitment demonstrated by the FBI agents in this case
in locating Barnett and the missing child after so many years,” Nettles said,
“was tireless and is an inspiration.”
The Post and Courier’s attempts to contact Todd on Thursday
were not successful. Telephone numbers that he once answered were no longer in
service.
His ex-wife faces a federal charge of international parental
kidnapping and two counts of making a false statement on a passport
application. If convicted, Barnett could face three years in prison on the
kidnapping charge and 10 years on each of the passport counts.
In Australia, where Barnett appeared before a magistrate
with her daughter, her bail was denied Wednesday. She is expected to appear
later for an extradition hearing.
Barnett, a flight attendant, and Todd got married in
December 1991 in Beaufort.
She filed for divorce in February 1993, alleging in court
documents that Todd had left her because he was angry about her being pregnant.
Todd countered, saying Barnett physically and emotionally abused him.
That month, Todd was given temporary custody of his unborn
daughter. Savanna was born May 6, 1993.
When Barnett moved out of her Isle of Palms home on April
23, 1994, she apparently took Savanna with her. During a court-supervised
visit, the two left for a birthday party without an escort and never returned,
the police reported at the time.
Barnett’s disappearance prompted a probe by the FBI, which
obtained a warrant for her arrest in April 1994. Todd pleaded for the public’s
help in finding his daughter.
“I remember her in her little Easter dress,” he said in
1995. “Someone, somewhere must know where my baby girl is.”
Savanna’s picture was posted on websites. Artists created
images depicting what she might look like today.
During her alleged time on the lam, Barnett used aliases
such as Alexandria Maria Canton, federal authorities said, to evade detection.
Citing court papers, The Australian reported that she got
married in 1995 to Juan Geldenhuys in South Africa. She gave birth to a son.
Once in March 2003 and again in March 2004, Barnett used her
new name, Alexandria Maria Geldenhuys, to attempt to get a U.S. passport,
according to the indictment against her.
She and her new husband later became citizens of New
Zealand, then moved to Australia in 2007, The Australian reported. Her husband
later left Barnett and died of cancer.
The newspaper reported that Barnett had been living in
Queensland with her two children. Savanna was known there as Samantha, the
newspaper reported, and had been studying nursing at a university. Her mother
had a mortgage.
Exactly how U.S. authorities caught up with her wasn’t
stated in federal courts papers in South Carolina.
The Australian reported that Todd learned of her whereabouts
when a friend of Barnett’s second husband grew suspicious and contacted him.
The Department of State and the Australian Federal Police
had roles in her ensuing capture.
After her arrest, Barnett appeared in an Australian
courtroom for bail hearings. During one proceeding, The Australian reported,
her daughter held up a sign that said, “We love you Mom.”
She’s expected to fight extradition in Australia, where she
was said to have a host of supporters.
No comments:
Post a Comment