Daniel 4 & Noah Brown 3, Msg for 8 mths, [Located safe], Father Arrested, UT

[sarahhod]

Mother to be reunited with children

February 18th, 2009 @ 10:05pm

By Nicole Gonzales and Jed Boal



http://i44.tinypic.com/34pgt1k.jpg
Grace Bjarnson will soon be reunited with her 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. It's been eight months since she has seen them. Tuesday night, she got a call from a detective, saying they were safe in Pennsylvania.
"This really is a miracle," she said. "And there are a lot of people who've been praying for this."
Last July, she and her husband were going through a divorce. The father had visitation rights and one day never returned with the children.

http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580954.jpg?filter=ksl/img200 (http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580954.jpg) Grace Bjarnson

Bjarnson said when the detective called, "He told me that the children were found. It was one of those experiences where you think: I must be dreaming."
Daniel Brown and Noel were found walking along a highway with their father in Lancaster County, Pa.
East Lampeter Township police identified 44-year-old Wayne Frederick Brown and saw he was wanted in Salt Lake County for felony custodial interference. Brown was booked into Lancaster County Jail.
Police say it looked like Brown had settled in East Lampeter after wandering the country for some time.
"You spend countless nights worrying, wondering where they are, if they're safe, if they're clothed, if they've had food to eat," Bjarnson said.
Gina McNeil, who manages the Utah Missing Persons Clearinghouse (http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/missingpersons.html), says, "A lot of times these children are taken, they are told that their left behind parent is deceased, or does not love them."

http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580975.jpg?filter=ksl/img200 (http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580975.jpg)
Bjarnson says that's what her husband told her kids. She spoke to her son 2 times over the phone, but it was evident Brown was brainwashing the children, telling them their mother died.
"My son doesn't really believe he has a mom at this point. Basically, the social worker is trying to let them know I am ... that I do exist and that I will be there," Bjarnson said.
Cases differ, but parents can take steps to prevent a parental abduction:



Obtain legal custody of your child.
Specify in the custody order exact times and locations for visitation.
Always keep current information of your child on file.

"Parental abduction, I would put on the same level as runaways. We never hear about these," McNeil said.

http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580964.jpg?filter=ksl/img200 (http://media.bonnint.net/slc/958/95809/9580964.jpg)
In this case, Brown tried to cross the Canadian border in December but was refused entry. That's what when the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office and Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office began to look into this as a criminal case.
"Concerns for the children's wellbeing were clearly articulated on the part of Miss Bjarnson, and the attempts to leave the country are critical elements," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
Winder says most of the reported missing children's cases here and nationwide are custodial issues. Usually law enforcement sees them as civil cases, but some cases can turn criminal like this one.
If Your Child is Abducted:


File a missing person report.
Contact the state Missing Children's Clearinghouse.
Obtain a court order for custody of your child if you do not already have legal custody.

Bjarnson knows she's fortunate. She's is planning to fly to Pennsylvania to be reunited her children soon.
Next week, detectives will have to go pick up Brown because he is fighting extradition.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5631726

[sarahhod]

Utah kids missing since July found with dad in Pa.

February 17th, 2009 @ 7:43pm

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) -- Two children missing from Utah since July have been found with their father, walking along a central Pennsylvania highway.
East Lampeter Township police say the man would not identify himself when questioned Tuesday morning, but police eventually learned he is 44-year-old Wayne Frederick Brown.
Police say Brown is wanted on kidnapping and family abduction charges by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department in Utah. East Lampeter Officer Greg Berry says Brown has no known ties to central Pennsylvania and appeared to be traveling aimlessly.
Brown was held in the Lancaster County Prison on $150,000 bail.
Brown's 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter had been missing since July 18, 2008. They were turned over to child welfare officials.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5622195

[Roamer]

Thank Heaven they were found safe!

[sarahhod]

Mom calls recovery of missing kids a miracle

The Associated Press
Posted: 02/19/2009 02:45:01 PM EST


SALT LAKE CITY—Grace Bjarnson says her eight-month nightmare became a dream come true when her missing children were found in central Pennsylvania this week. Bjarnson said Wednesday that the discovery of Daniel, 4, and Noel, 3, is a miracle.
"I'm so thankful because this doesn't happen normally," she said. "A lot of people have been praying for this. It was one of those experiences where you think, 'I must be dreaming.'"
The children disappeared with Bjarnson's ex-husband, Wayne Fredrick Brown, on July 18. They were found with Brown on Tuesday walking a highway near East Lampeter Township.
Bjarnson hopes to be reunited with her children this week. When she sees them for the first time, Bjarnson said she'll "say a prayer of Thanksgiving and give them the biggest hug they can imagine."
Bjarnson and Brown divorced last year after four years of marriage. Brown disappeared with the kids during a weekend visit.
Bjarnson said she tried to contact him several times. But Brown continuously changed attorneys and failed to show up for court. It is believed he left Utah in November or December.
Brown twice tried to leave the U.S., but was turned back by border agents—once because he didn't have the right documents and a second time because an agent rejected the papers as fake, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson.
"Thank you to the border police patrol who didn't let him cross," Bjarnson said.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said custody issues are a common problem for police, who often can't easily determine when a family issue becomes a criminal matter. "We have to determine where the criminal line has been crossed," Winder said. "The system is not working well at all."
Brown is now in jail and being held on $150,000 bail. In January, Salt Lake County prosecutors charged Brown with two third-degree felony counts of custodial interference. It could not immediately be determined Thursday if Brown had a lawyer.

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11740726