Swedish Mother Offers Reward To Find Abducted Daughter

[sriracha john]

Swedish mother searches for 'abducted' daughter

A Swedish woman Monday offered a $10,000 reward (about 310,000 baht) for anyone in Thailand or Cambodia who can tip off police to the whereabouts of her 6-year-old daughter, allegedly abducted by her own father last year.

Maria Elfversson, 35, from Gothenburg, Sweden, announced the reward for the return of her daughter, Alicia, at a press conference in Bangkok in the hopes that her story would be publicised in the local press.

"Neither the police nor authorities have been able to find out which country he has taken her to. I therefore want to make this plea for help," said Elfversson.

She claimed that her former husband, Norwegian national Torgeir Nordbo, 47, abducted their daughter on June 4, 2007 and took her to either Thailand or Cambodia, where he owns property. She said Alicia was last seen last month, in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Although Nordbo has been charged with abduction in Sweden, and is wanted by Interpol, it is not a crime for a father to abduct his own children in Cambodia.

"The hope is that we can get Alicia back through the Hague Convention and the international police will be able to find her," Elfversson told a press conference.

- DPA

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Maria Elfversson from Sweden posted reward notice US$10,000 for information leading to her missing daughter Alicia Elfversson Nordbo.

http://www.lusa.pt/lusaweb/user/showitem?s...p;docid=8121222

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Have you seen my daughter?

Interpol alerts Thai police about 6-year-old Alicia, believed to have been abducted by her father; her mother Maria will hold a press conference in Bangkok this afternoon.

A Swedish woman has come to Thailand in search of her six-year-old daughter, who has been missing since June last year.

Alicia Elfversson is believed to have been abducted by her father, Norwegian Torgeir Nordbo, 47.

Interpol has reportedly alerted police in Thailand and Cambodia about Nordbo, and Alicia, after it was discovered last month they had been living in the Cambodian seaside resort of Sihanoukville.

The girl's mother, Maria Elfversson, arrived in Bangkok yesterday to publicise the abduction of her daughter. She suspects her former partner may have fled here because he had a condominium in Jomtien and did business in and around Pattaya.

Nordbo also owned two pickup trucks and had a boat in Pattaya, Elfversson, 35, said in an interview yesterday.

Elfversson, 35, from Gothenburg, said she was awarded sole custody of her daughter after her relationship with Nordbo broke down. She said he was "furious" about her and Alicia moving back to Sweden from Thailand in April last year.

In June 2007, she agreed to let him take their daughter to Norway to visit his family for 14 days, but said police had learnt since that he drove south to Morocco and flew to Cambodia via Malaysia and Shanghai.

"Alicia was last seen in Sihanoukville last month. We now think that Torgeir has taken Alicia to Thailand because he has business there.

"He owned a condo at the Sunshine Beach Condotel near the Ocean Marina.

"I haven't seen or spoken to my daughter in 9 months. I'm getting desperate. My despair is endless. Day and night I think of Alicia."

She said it appeared Alicia - who speaks Thai, Khmer, some Swedish and Norwegian, plus English - had "been dressed like a boy" and had her blonde hair cut short while living in Cambodia with her father, who was allegedly calling her "Al".

Nordbo had been charged with abduction last August, according to Elfversson. She will hold a press conference at the Rembrandt Hotel in Sukhumvit 18 at 2pm today.

- Daily Xpress

[sriracha john]

Maria Elfversson, daughter Alicia / Alicia’s father, Torgeir Nordbo

'Day and night I think of Alicia'

A Swedish mother has offered $10,000 for information about the whereabouts of her 6-year-old daughter whom the woman believes was abducted by her estranged boyfriend.

At a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, 35-year-old Maria Elfversson from Gothenburg pleaded for help from the public and local media in the search for her missing daughter, Alicia.

“My despair is endless. Day and night I think of Alicia. My family and I have had constant contact with different authorities, international police, various embassies and more, but still nobody has been able to locate her,” she said.

Elfversson last saw her daughter in June of 2007, when Alicia’s father, Torgeir Nordbo, picked her up for what he billed as a two-week trip to Norway to visit relatives.

The couple’s relationship had been stormy since shortly after Alicia was born.

At the time of her daughter's disappearance, Elfversson was raising Alicia in Gothenburg against the wishes of Nordbo, who was living in Thailand.

After several days passed without word from either Alicia or the girl’s father, Elfversson soon learned from a Norwegian lawyer that Nordbo would be taking Alicia on an “extended vacation”.

Shortly thereafter, the police were called in and determined that Norbo never went to Norway, but instead drove with Alicia across Europe to Morocco before flying to Cambodia. He was charged in his absence with kidnapping.

The case is complicated by the fact that it is not a crime for a biological father to abduct his own children in Cambodia.

Elfversson hopes that the offer of a reward may lead to additional clues that will help the quest to find her daughter.

“It’s unbelievably tough to be in this situation and not know anything about my daughter,” she told The Local.

While she doesn’t fear that Norbo would physically harm Alicia, Elfversson is worried about how the circumstances may be affecting Alicia, who had never been away from her mother for more than a few days at a time prior to the abduction.

“I’m worried for her well being. I’m worried for her and for what she understands of the situation. She hasn’t seen her mother for nine months and I have no idea what sort of things he’s telling her,” she said.

Norbo owns property in Thailand and Cambodia, and was last seen in Cambodia in February of 2008.

Elfversson plans to travel to Cambodia on Wednesday to raise awareness of the situation with the authorities and media there. She hopes that the efforts will help authorities track down Alicia’s father, or that he may hear her pleas and have a change of heart.

“He's on the run," she said.

"He’s got to understand that this isn’t a viable long term solution for him or for Alicia."

(Today)

[sriracha john]

YouTube Video:

Missing Alicia REWARD 10,000 USD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGAq1yyNVAs

[sriracha john]

Interpol Wanted Poster for Torgeir Nordbo :

Offences

Categories of Offences: CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN, KIDNAPPING

Arrest Warrant Issued by: GOTHENBURG / Sweden

http://www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted.../2007_38116.asp

[sriracha john]

Swedish mother Maria Elfversson offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to the return of her 6-year-old daughter Alicia, abducted by the father.

The Nation (today)

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$10,000 is a lot of money but I'm desperate...

A Swedish mother who has come to Thailand to try to find her missing daughter is offering a US$10,000 (Bt314,000) reward for information that leads to the return of her six-year-old girl.

Maria Elfversson, 35, announced the reward at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday. The girl was allegedly abducted by her father nine months ago.

Ms Elfversson, from Gothenburg, Sweden, hopes the reward will motivate Thai or Cambodian people to help locate her daughter Alicia.

She claims her former partner, Norwegian Torgeir Nordbo, 47, abducted Alicia on June 4, 2007 and took her to Cambodia. The missing girl and her father were reportedly living in the seaside resort of Sihanoukville until last month.

But her mother suspects they may be in Thailand because Nordbo has numerous properties and businesses in and around Jomtien.

Nordbo has been charged with abduction in Sweden, and is wanted by Interpol. But taking your own child is not regarded as a crime in Cambodia.

Elfversson told reporters yesterday: "Neither the police nor authorities have been able to find out which country he has taken her to. I therefore want to make this plea for help. "The hope is that we can get Alicia back - that the international police will be able to find her."

She said the reward was a lot of money for her and her family, but admitted she was desperate to get her daughter back.

The abduction of Alicia has been front-page news in Sweden and Norway, particularly after it was reported that the missing girl appeared to have been living with her father in Sihanoukville.

A Swedish policewoman based in Bangkok has already been to Cambodia to try to find the missing girl, but wasn't able to locate her or Nordbo.

A TV crew from Sweden's Channel 4 was due to arrive last night to report on the search for Alicia. They are due to travel to Cambodia tomorrow.

- Daily Xpress (today)

[Gravelrash]

Custody of children can be a messy business. In general the mother will win custody, in rare circumstances the father. Often both parties want the children.

Friend of mine at home had his wife leave and left him with the child. She returned 8 years later, demanded the child and won automatic custody. The kid didn't even know who she was as abandoned as a baby.

I have lawful cutody of our child in Thailand. If we went home, my ex-wife, perhaps for financial leverage on me, could probably have the police seize him and be awarded custody there. If I were to defy the order then my countrys police might be after me, even though I am sole legal guardian here.

Superficially it would seem this child would be better off with the mother back in a western country. But we are only presented with one side of the story.

[sriracha john]

But we are only presented with one side of the story.

It's not a coincidence that the side we do have is the side that DOESN'T have an international police Interpol wanted fugitive warrant.

[sriracha john]

UPDATE...she's going home... :D

Swedish girl on her way home from Cambodia after alleged abduction

Phnom Penh - A 6-year-old Swedish girl allegedly abducted by her father was on her way home after Cambodian police detained the man, a family friend said Friday.

Alicia Elfversson had been reported missing on June 4, 2007, after her father, Torgier Nordbo, picked her up for a routine visit to see relatives in Norway, her mother, Maria Elfversson, said in an earlier interview.

Nordbo was later reported as wanted by Interpol for "crimes against children" and kidnapping and tracked to Cambodia. He has extensive business interests in neighbouring Thailand.

Steve Morrish of the anti-trafficking organization Sisha said Friday that mother and daughter had been reunited and immediately left for Sweden.

"The last I heard, her plans were to get straight home as soon as possible," he said.

Nordbo, whom Elfversson has said was Norwegian-born, was awaiting deportation to the child's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, to face charges, Cambodian anti-trafficking police said.

- DPA

Edited July 25, 2008 by sriracha john

[girlx]

it is not a crime for a father to abduct his own children in Cambodia.

i don't really see why it should be a crime anywhere?

[ukrules]

Now I wonder did she pay the $10,000 reward out or not ?

You see these reward offers all the time and never hear of anyone collecting them.

[JOHN2]

Now I wonder did she pay the $10,000 reward out or not ?

You see these reward offers all the time and never hear of anyone collecting them.

Very true.

By the way to only value your own daughter at at only 10k is nothing short of disgraceful.

[sbk]

Now I wonder did she pay the $10,000 reward out or not ?

You see these reward offers all the time and never hear of anyone collecting them.

Very true.

By the way to only value your own daughter at at only 10k is nothing short of disgraceful.

Your assumption is that she had more than 10,000 to offer.

She said the reward was a lot of money for her and her family, but admitted she was desperate to get her daughter back.

[dotcom]

it is not a crime for a father to abduct his own children in Cambodia.

i don't really see why it should be a crime anywhere?

Are you kidding me?

I am pretty sure if someone took your children to a foreign country, without your permission, you might be just that little bit peeved.

[Tigs]

She said it appeared Alicia - who speaks Thai, Khmer, some Swedish and Norwegian, plus English

So Alicia speaks Thai and Khmer?? and only some Swedish?

Just where has she lived for most of her life?? I just wonder if this little girl was 'abducted' to Sweden by her mother in the first place, and if the police/media have just allowed this to happen again? Remember, we don't know all of the story here folks. It does seem very odd? He/she that gets to the lawyers/police/media first will always be innocent.

[sbk]

Small children pick up languages very quickly. My nephew came to visit at the age of 4 and was speaking about 20-30 words and about 5-8 phrases by the time he left 3 weeks later.

[Tigs]

sbk

agree with what you say. It is just interesting that the father is vilified so quickly, yet his side of the story has not been heard yet, and he is after all, the child's father. The way the language issue is stated by the media is that the child speaks more Asian than her alleged scandinavian background. just a thought.

[sbk]

Also find it interesting the need to vilify the mother. The father took the child out of the country by lying to the mother about his destination and sneaking the child out through Morocco. He clearly had to know he was breaking the law at the time.

[Tigs]

I cannot see anyone so far on this thread that has vilified the mother. We do not know the facts! The mother may be within the law, so may the father. We do not know the circumstances why the father did what he did. If i thought my child in danger, i would invent any story to ensure i got the opportunity to leave with her to relative safety. That goes for both parents. I take no sides, i just think we should be cautious with our accusations, which ever way they go.

[sbk]

Well, regardless of who is within the law or not, an arrest warrant has been issued for the father and it appears Cambodia is actually going to send him back. The mother has been reunited with her daughter, per Swedish law.

And that seems to be the end of the story for Thailand.

[sbk]

Alicia's father jailed over Cambodia abduction

The father of Alicia Elfversson, the six year-old Swedish girl who he abducted and took to Cambodia, has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison by a district court in Gothenburg.

Back in June 2007, then 47-year-old Torgeir Nordbo had told the girl’s mother, Maria Elfversson, that he was taking Alicia on a two week vacation.

At the time, Elfversson was living in Gothenburg and raising the then five-year-old Alicia, against the wishes of Nordbo, who lived in Thailand.

After not hearing from Alicia’s father for several days, Elfversson later learned from a lawyer that Nordo had taken the girl on an “extended vacation”.

Following more than a year in hiding, during which time Nordo had cut Alicia’s hair in attempt to disguise her as a boy, he was arrested in Cambodia in July and brought back to Sweden to stand trial.

Prosecutors sought and succeed in having Nordbo convicted of unlawfully separating the child from her legal guardian, for which he is to serve 18 months in prison.

In addition, the court ordered Nordbo to pay 88,000 kronor [415,376 Thai baht] in damages to the girl’s mother and 40,000 kronor [188,766 Thai baht] to Alicia.

- The Local (Sweden) / 2008-10-14

http://www.thelocal.se/14956/20081014/