Gypsy Jan
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Kidnapped boy and mom reunite after 5 years
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Kristina Davis
SAN DIEGO - "It had been five years since Leilani Masumoto had seen her son, who was just a toddler when authorities said his father kidnapped him
from San Diego and whisked him to Mexico.
Now, the mother-son reunion that often haunted her dreams was about to come true.
As she waited for him at the Mexico City airport, she worried: "Will he even recognize me? Will I remember him?"
The 7-year-old boy she greeted was taller, but unmistakably her son.
"When I saw him I just broke down in tears," she said Thursday.
The reunion last week was made possible with help from an enterprising young woman in Mexico and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office Child
Abduction Unit.
Keoni Rocha was abducted by his father, Julio Rocha, in 2007 after the boy's mother requested full custody, according to the District Attorney's
Office.
The break in the case came recently when a student in Mexico was doing online research for a school project and came across a poster from the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children with information about the boy and his father.
She recognized the boy as a neighbor who lived across the street, and she contacted authorities.
Investigators from the county's Child Abduction Unit worked with Mexican authorities and were able to negotiate with Keoni's grandparents for his
return at the Mexico City airport last week.
The grandparents had said they were in failing health and could no longer care for the boy, who is autistic and doesn't speak.
"It was the most heart-wrenching return I have ever seen," said district attorney investigator Carole Snyder. "The grandmother and the aunt knew this
would be the last time they saw Keoni."
Snyder said the boy and his mother "bonded like they were meant to be as soon as they were reunited at the airport."
Masumoto said it took her son about 20 minutes to warm up to her, but the pair have been inseparable ever since.
At their apartment Thursday in Point Loma, mother and son wrestled on the floor and snuggled on the couch.
The two are still learning how to communicate - he was raised around Spanish, and she speaks English. She is discovering her son all over again, such
as his love of airplanes and his favorite food, a rolled-up tortilla with mayonnaise. She is working on finding a good school that works with autistic
children.
Keoni's 37-year-old father remains at-large. A felony arrest warrant for child abduction was issued for Rocha in 2009. He is believed to be living in
the United States. He may be using the alias Miguel Martinez. Anyone with information can call investigators at (619) 531-4345.
The Child Abduction Unit is contacted when a child is taken from his or her parent or guardian in custody disputes violating San Diego County court
orders.
Last year, the unit conducted 150 investigations and recovered 75 children taken from around the U.S. The unit also handled 30 international
abductions, working with governments in countries such as Mexico, Germany, Argentina and Colombia.
Masumoto offered words of encouragement to other parents who have had children abducted in custody battles.
"Don't give up. It does take time," she said. "You've got to have patience, faith and hope."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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EnsenadaDr
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My son was abducted by his paternal grandmother in 2002 to Australia, and I didn't see him for four years. The US State Department and the Australian
Government did nothing to bring him back. It is the most heinous and traumatic of crimes. I will be writing my book called, "Full Circle:
Reunification after Parental Alienation". I am going to Australia in November to take pictures and do research for the upcoming book, and of course
to visit with my beloved son.
[Edited on 10-28-2012 by EnsenadaDr]
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Gypsy Jan
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That is One of the Worst Nightmares for a Parent
I am so sorry for the illegal, immoral actions that led to your loss of your son.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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EnsenadaDr
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Well, he did come back to the US for 6 years. What happened was that the paternal grandmother got terminal lung cancer, and came back to the US to
die, and took my son with her. My son was 17 at the time, and called me out of the blue to say he had just gotten back to the US. He went to San
Diego State, received his degree last year in International Business with an emphasis in Latin America, and got a job offer in Sydney programming in
Drupal. He is a very hard working boy, and I am very proud of him. We stay in regular touch on Skype, and he just informed me that all the houses in
Australia have spiders that look like tarantulas, and is putting me in a Vegan boot camp. ha ha...what we will do for our kids!!!
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EnsenadaDr
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Thank you, Jan
The funny thing is I was living on Villas del Mar, in Rosarito, when he left on a visit to Australia to visit his grandmother. It was a horrible time
for me, and I remember crying every night in my apartment overlooking the ocean in Rosarito. Many parents never get to see their children again. My
passion is the reformation of the Hague Convention on International Parental Kidnapping, but that is a whole other ball of wax. | Quote: | Originally posted by Gypsy Jan
I am so sorry for the illegal, immoral actions that led to your loss of your son. |
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Gypsy Jan
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I Have Often Thought
That You Give Birth Only to Get Your Heart Ripped Out.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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BajaDixon
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Glad your story had a happy ending. What pain you must have endured.
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EnsenadaDr
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In one way, yes. But his experience as a young teen there has made him want to return there, he loves Australia and I think he wants to be there
permanently. He has an apartment overlooking the ocean and a good job, which is more than many 24 olds have in the US. He says if he got a good job
in the US he would come back but funny how it seems Australia pays better than the US for college grads.
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captkw
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usa and no future
and no lets not even talk about education in the usa...hate to say the plain info.....Keep watching that TV and reading the mass media (clear
channel) and wave that flag !! and remeber that the usa is what maybe 220 something years old !!! love the people that have not had the time to look
outside of their little box and have real veiw of the world ...way do folks from the usa think that they live in the best place in the world and that
their gov. does no wrong ????
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EnsenadaDr
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Well, to be fair, my son did get educated at San Diego State University for four years and graduated from there, and it appears the Australians
respect that judging by giving him the job. But my son started with my nephew over ten years ago doing websites and political campaign ads for the
Tea Party, i.e. Ron Paul, and he got plenty of experience programming in Drupal, which I am not really familiar with. But he is super ambitious and
so he had not only his college education but actual work experience and also he went to high school in Australia, so that probably was a factor in
getting the job.
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captkw
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ens. doc
Hola,, but to fair.... many other places the schools are now better than the usa... and BTW where are you ???? K&T
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EnsenadaDr
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I am in San Diego right now, heading down to Baja to complete some final work for my titulo medico.
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captkw
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wow,,,fast reply
Me and the Lil Tasha are in corralitas ca. and being in the mountains with only sound is the creek..we are happy and will be coming south to baja in a
month or so..Thanks for your reply and your post's...you seem to me to be very interesting lady and
GTG>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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captkw
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GTG=got to go !!!
LOL,,dog issue !!!
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