Texas Girl Who Disappeared for Months Found Safe in a Foreign Country Alongside Her Father Fighting for Child’s Custody
After a months-long search, a Texas girl was found safe by authorities in a foreign country with her fugitive father, who refused to hand over his daughter in a custody battle.
Custody Battle Prompts Father of Running Overseas for His Daughter's Safety
According to Daily Mail, the Texas girl was found by authorities after she went missing in July. The 11-year-old girl was located by investigators in a foreign country with her fugitive dad following a bitter custody dispute in which the father had refused to hand over the Texas girl to her maternal aunt.
The Collin County Sheriff's Office made the arrangements of flying the 11-year-old Sophie Long back to the state of Texas on Saturday. The deputies declined to state in which country she was located, but authorities previously mentioned that she and her dad could have been en route to Argentina or Mexico.
Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said in a statement on Saturday that they were so happy because Sophie was found safe. Skinner stated that after many months of determined work by several agencies, it all paid off. The investigation was participated by the deputies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals.
Based on the report of the Dallas Morning News, the father of the 11-year-old girl, Michael Long, would be extradited to the U.S. wherein he would face a felony charge of interference with child custody.
Long said that he did not want to return Sophie to the family of her mother in early July after the girl claimed that her mom's fiancee abused her sexually.
Sophie Long, Father Claim Sexual Abuse Against Mother's Fiancee
In a meeting with DailyMail in August, Sophie appeared happy to be with her father while she was sharing not only her grades at school but also about her favorite classes.
Sophie was at the center of a bitter custody dispute between her dad, mother Kelly Long, and her aunt, whom she was sent to live within May.
Moreover, the 11-year-old girl was last seen on July 12 in Seguin, situated in the northeast portion of San Antonio, before being found. Deputies stated that they would not reveal more information until Sophie would be back in the U.S.
The 43-year-old father of the Texas girl was due to show up at a court in McKinney in August for a hearing over a motion that could send him to jail for almost three years.
However, he shared in an exclusive interview with DailyMail the day before the warrant was issued that the only way he would return to the court is if it would bring his daughter back to his home and if he would be allowed to put his case before a jury.
The ex-husband of Kelly Long opposed the possibility of a jury trial in a motion and asked for Long to be summarily jailed for 18 months plus an extra year on one count of hiding Sophie and another for failing to hand her their daughter.
The 36-year-old Kelly also asked authorities for placing Long on probation for 10 years and for him to be held on a $20,000 bond, as well as for him to cover her legal costs.
However, the father shared Sophie claimed that her daughter was sexually abused by her mother's fiancée, Jacob Bellington. Michael also shared that his daughter was diagnosed with a vaginal infection after being taken to the hospital last summer.
Sophie was also interviewed by a specialist nurse with her father outside the room and repeated the claims to her based on the medical records.
Following her claims, the Frisco Police Department in Texas opened an investigation into the case. The ongoing investigation prompted authorities to give Michael temporary custody of Sophie and her two brothers.
WATCH: Missing Texas girl Sophie Long found in foreign country, father in custody -MediaPortal
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