Kidnapped American girl found in Thailand 5 years later

SYRACUSE, New York - Authorities say a Syracuse-area girl abducted nearly five years ago by her non-custodial father has been found in good health in Thailand.

Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh says Deonna Shipman, now 8, was found just over two weeks ago by the FBI in Bangkok and is back in the county. Walsh says Tuesday she'd been missing from the town of Salina since July 2007 after Jeffery Shipman took her and fled the country.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2012-03-14

screen capture of victim Deonna Shipman from video news

Girl abducted by her father in 2007 found safe in Thailand

When a child has been missing for 4 years, the news is normally not good, But that's not the case for Deonna Shipman. YNN's Bill Carey said the young girl is back home after a journey that took her thousands of miles away.

Article and Video News continued here:

http://centralny.ynn.com/content/top_stories/577001/liverpool-girl-abducted-by-her-father-in-2007-found-safe-in-thailand/

The accused, Jeffrey Shipman, from public domain records for missing children

Abducted girl, 8, found safe in Thailand and returned home; dad faces charges

Salina, NY -- A Salina girl, abducted by her father in 2007, has returned home after being found safe in Thailand, according to Onondaga County sheriff's deputies.

Deonna Shipman, now 8, was found in Bangkok last month with her father, Jeffery Shipman, 51, who did not have custody of the girl, said Sgt. John D'Eredita.

Jeffery Shipman was found Feb. 24 and arrested on an FBI warrant on international parental kidnapping charges, D'Eredita said. He was arraigned in Los Angeles. Shipman had been on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

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The Post-Standard / March 14, 2012

. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

then ,check his atm .credit cards and see where he has been withdrawing cash ,then you have his neighbourhood /areas he frequents (say sukhumvit rd etc )

then you check how many farangs are in rented homes and guesthouses in this area (you cant rent anything anymore without your passport copy and landlord must sent that to immigration ,even if u only stay a night ) ,talk to locals about seeing a man with a little farang girl etc and show pictures of him to all the thais in that vicinity

and you will probably have him arrested within 24 -48hrs

how can a "sheriff" go in the media and say silly things "well,i dont know how ,but they found him etc "

its like homer simpson policework

The information given is thin at best.

Anyways, I pity the poor bastard, as well as the child.

If, as the report indicates, the child was healthy and happy upon being found, he was obviously doing something right, however misguided.

She certainly wont be happy once he gets banged up. I know my daughter would be gutted if i were to suddenly be removed from her life.

We will never know what motivated him, though if someone tried to take my child, i would be off like a shot. however if the direction is reversed the crime is significantly lessened

The accused, Jeffrey Shipman, from public domain records for missing children

The last 5 years he spent in Thailand. Anyone recognize him?

.

Thailand is such a good place to hid.

whatever happended before , its never good to use a child for personal vendetta specially after a louzy divorce ... not to mention that this little girl needs her mother as well .... I dont know all the details of the story and have no idea about their life but to fleed your country with your kid is never the best solution.

. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

then ,check his atm .credit cards and see where he has been withdrawing cash ,then you have his neighbourhood /areas he frequents (say sukhumvit rd etc )

then you check how many farangs are in rented homes and guesthouses in this area (you cant rent anything anymore without your passport copy and landlord must sent that to immigration ,even if u only stay a night ) ,talk to locals about seeing a man with a little farang girl etc and show pictures of him to all the thais in that vicinity

and you will probably have him arrested within 24 -48hrs

how can a "sheriff" go in the media and say silly things "well,i dont know how ,but they found him etc "

its like homer simpson policework

That's probably why it took the FBI 5 years to find her rather than the 1 to 2 days you would have taken.

"The mother will return from Russia and be re-united with her daughter"

Was she a mail order bride he got while he lived in America maybe and like many, once they receive their green card they are off looking for better and richer guys? There has been many documentaries about these types of inccedents and I know we are only speculating now but I'm willing to bet he did the right thing weather it is legal or not by fleeing the country with his daughter.

In America the courts pretty much lean towards the mother about 80% of the time in a custody battle in divorce courts and it's about time this changes. I know in Canada over the past 10 - 15 years the courts have been changing and giving the "fathers" a better deal on these matters.

The big shame here now is that because he did this ilegal, he will now most likely end up in jail and the daughter will be ripped from his arms and end up in her mothers arms who she does not really know and most likely end up back in Russia, then eventually in Pattaya. What a life for the poor innocent girl.

Mmmm... interesting! I am glad they found her, and I am glad she will get to see her Mum again. What gets me is how the Father is condemned without any of us knowing the full story. In the U.K. especially Fathers have little to no rights to there own children. Some Fathers (who have never been abusive e.t.c.) having no access at all to there child. Maybe this guy ran for the same reason, not for vengeance or a vendetta; but simply to raise his daughter. By all accounts he wasnt doing a bad job of it! He was misguided in running off like this, but I dont think he should be vilified on here for his actions. IF i ever had kids and I had no access to them, for NO reason, I cant say that I would do any different!

Sounds like possibly

a good father up against a conniving russian greencard bride

who was using the child as leverage and not love, or worse,

and the father took the child he loves to get her away from trouble.

Or maybe he is a nut case, but he doesn't look the part.

Or maybe BOTH parents are nut cases.

Agreed, none of us really know the full story here. However too many times people just assume the male is in the wrong and the child needs her mum more. I think it is an outdated idea that women these days are more nurturing and more suitable as parents than men. As women strive for equality in all area's and focus on careers, then courts should recognise this and stop basing judgements on past morals and ideals!

Why is it that a wife from another country has to be a mail order bride ? Lots of people travel the world and meet locals , I have ex military friends that have wives from the Philippines, Mexico, France, Russia, Brazil and Thailand, none of them are mail order brides.

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I have read some back stories online. Its still not 100% clear but it seems there was a messy custodial battle. The mother was an immigrant not a mail order bride. A lot of nastiness was thrown around in court. It isnt clear what is true or not with reference to Father or Mother. However when he lost the battle he only had visitation rights. On one of these visitations he took his daughter and done a runner to Thailand via London! Theres probably more available online but i've run out of time got to do some work!!

"The mother will return from Russia and be re-united with her daughter"

Was she a mail order bride he got while he lived in America maybe and like many, once they receive their green card they are off looking for better and richer guys? There has been many documentaries about these types of inccedents and I know we are only speculating now but I'm willing to bet he did the right thing weather it is legal or not by fleeing the country with his daughter.

In America the courts pretty much lean towards the mother about 80% of the time in a custody battle in divorce courts and it's about time this changes. I know in Canada over the past 10 - 15 years the courts have been changing and giving the "fathers" a better deal on these matters.

The big shame here now is that because he did this ilegal, he will now most likely end up in jail and the daughter will be ripped from his arms and end up in her mothers arms who she does not really know and most likely end up back in Russia, then eventually in Pattaya. What a life for the poor innocent girl.

What an intriguing course of events you paint in order for Deonna Shipman to somehow end up back in Thailand.

.

Im not a vindictive person but if I thought I might lose my daughters I would have done the same thing, I don't know the guy or the daughter but the kid is lucky to have a dad who would put him neck out like that. That takes balls.

. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

then ,check his atm .credit cards and see where he has been withdrawing cash ,then you have his neighbourhood /areas he frequents (say sukhumvit rd etc )

then you check how many farangs are in rented homes and guesthouses in this area (you cant rent anything anymore without your passport copy and landlord must sent that to immigration ,even if u only stay a night ) ,talk to locals about seeing a man with a little farang girl etc and show pictures of him to all the thais in that vicinity

and you will probably have him arrested within 24 -48hrs

how can a "sheriff" go in the media and say silly things "well,i dont know how ,but they found him etc "

its like homer simpson policework

That's probably why it took the FBI 5 years to find her rather than the 1 to 2 days you would have taken.

All without wana here even getting out of his couch, no doubt.

Thailand, not only the ultimate final destination for many of the world's bon vivants, but also the ultimate penultimate destination for many of the world's desperados.

"The mother will return from Russia and be re-united with her daughter"

Was she a mail order bride...... and the daughter will be ripped from his arms and end up in her mothers arms who she does not really know and most likely end up back in Russia, then eventually in Pattaya. What a life for the poor innocent girl.

Ummm.... OK, I will ask. Pattaya? <deleted>?

. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

then ,check his atm .credit cards and see where he has been withdrawing cash ,then you have his neighbourhood /areas he frequents (say sukhumvit rd etc )

then you check how many farangs are in rented homes and guesthouses in this area (you cant rent anything anymore without your passport copy and landlord must sent that to immigration ,even if u only stay a night ) ,talk to locals about seeing a man with a little farang girl etc and show pictures of him to all the thais in that vicinity

and you will probably have him arrested within 24 -48hrs

how can a "sheriff" go in the media and say silly things "well,i dont know how ,but they found him etc "

its like homer simpson policework

Awesome! A TV post that ridicules western cops and law enforcement. Makes a change from the usual BiB bash.... but don't let that stop you.

I offer no opinion on the rights or wrongs of this matter. I do not know the full facts and my guess is that nobody else here does either. Reason enough to keep fingers off the keyboard?

However compare this to the situation inThailand where children are farmed out to grandparents without apparently too deleterious an effect. My brother in law who lives and works in BKK was left caring for two young children after his wife took off with a farang. I am happy to say that six months later the farang booted her out and she sought to return to the family home. But things had moved along meanwhile. BIL brought the children to my wife in Pattaya who was a stranger to them, and these frightened babes wouldn't stop crying to the point that my wife could not cope. I returned from a trip to find a distraught wife and two hysterical kids. Immediately the children, their meagre belongings and my wife bundled into my truck and we took off to her sister's place in Lomsak. Her sister could not, it was thought at the time, bear children and over the past eight years has proved to be a wonderful mother. The kids are healthy, strong and proving to be very intelligent and doing very well at school. To all intents and purposes the children's aunt IS their mother and the change in their circumstances has been an unqualified success and of benefit to them. Their father contributes as best he can to their support and visits them regularly as well as speaking to them on the telephone. My wife and I take care that they do not lack any of life's essentials indeed that they have one or two deserved and earned luxuries. I now find myself to my delight their favourite uncle. BTW BIL's wife was told to 'go forth and multiply' and has made no further contact with her ex-husband, nor does she know where the children now are.

Simillarly in South Africa the native children live in extended families and my unmaried Zulu maid had borne three children with different fathers but told me that the children now had, as most of the other kids in her village have, several fathers viz uncles and other family members. They seem to grow up without psychological problems.

If this American father has acted in the best interests of his child and that this can be demonstrated, I hope that the Judge will show some compassion and a large degree of sympathy to him. I hope that the decision to award custody to the mother be reviewed and that how the mother has conducted herself for the past 8 years will be a salient factor in any deliberation of the matter. No sentient person can believe other that the child's best interests and happiness are of paramount importance.

Unfortunately all too often in this mad World, doing the right thing is seldom rewarded. One has only to see the results of 'whistleblowing' bestowed on good and honest people.

. Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he did not know how the FBI tracked them down in Thailand.

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

Unless he traveled from one country to another. His original desination was aparently England. No "central database" exists which tracks that.

You may be surprised to learn many minor roads which cross between Canada and the USA are un-manned. When this guy fled 5 years ago Americans didn't even need a passport to travel to Canada, Mexico, the Carribean, etc.

then ,check his atm .credit cards and see where he has been withdrawing cash ,then you have his neighbourhood /areas he frequents (say sukhumvit rd etc )

Maybe he used cash.

Not so nice for the girl who has only known her father.

If this American father has acted in the best interests of his child and that this can be demonstrated, I hope that the Judge will show some compassion and a large degree of sympathy to him. I hope that the decision to award custody to the mother be reviewed and that how the mother has conducted herself for the past 8 years will be a salient factor in any deliberation of the matter. No sentient person can believe other that the child's best interests and happiness are of paramount importance.

Unfortunately all too often in this mad World, doing the right thing is seldom rewarded. One has only to see the results of 'whistleblowing' bestowed on good and honest people.

If the father has treated the girl well, maybe give him a payout for taking care of his own daughter (as the mother would have got for being a single mum), and a medal for having the balls to do what he did because he loved his own kid. Call it 'kidnapping' if you like. I call the law <Snip!> UP. In most Western countries, the courts don't give the dad much of a chance any more. I happen to know...

a law enforcement sheriff has no idea how to track a kidnapper who has been identified to the authorities ?

first ,they check his passport number in the central database,then they know the last time he flew and into which city

Which central database?

Once you're outside the US there is no central database that tracks passenger movements.

Mmmm... interesting! I am glad they found her, and I am glad she will get to see her Mum again. What gets me is how the Father is condemned without any of us knowing the full story. In the U.K. especially Fathers have little to no rights to there own children. Some Fathers (who have never been abusive e.t.c.) having no access at all to there child. Maybe this guy ran for the same reason, not for vengeance or a vendetta; but simply to raise his daughter. By all accounts he wasnt doing a bad job of it! He was misguided in running off like this, but I dont think he should be vilified on here for his actions. IF i ever had kids and I had no access to them, for NO reason, I cant say that I would do any different!

If the guy has educated loved and cared for his daughter how can anyone vilify him. Breakups are terrible and the laws in favour of women are out of control. My sympathies to the guy but for the grace of god there go I. A woman is not automatically a better carer for a child than a man. It depends on the woman and depends on the man. Give the guy a break and punish him lightly for breaking the law if he has cared properly for his daughter.

this opens up a bad can of worms, i lost my kids, and my wife took them all over the world trying to find a place to settle in, out of school,like gypsies, while i had a stable home and was financialy secure, but German law didn't go my way,sure i thought about it,but would have gone to jail for kidnapping,no one really knows the real life stories,F*** the councilors and social workers and the departments that do what they think is right.....i haven't seen my kids in 4 years, no embassy was slightly interested in my letters and pleas, The Australians nor the Germans, poor fella,he's gonna cop it good,presuming everything is just what it looks like, a caring father...

The information given is thin at best.

Anyways, I pity the poor bastard, as well as the child.

If, as the report indicates, the child was healthy and happy upon being found, he was obviously doing something right, however misguided.

She certainly wont be happy once he gets banged up. I know my daughter would be gutted if i were to suddenly be removed from her life.

We will never know what motivated him, though if someone tried to take my child, i would be off like a shot. however if the direction is reversed the crime is significantly lessened

THANKS for this post Nocturn - Finally another light moment next to all the HANG HIM HIGHER bunch of posters here in TV.. he will have his reasons and I doubt the little girl will like her life in the US better as this one in Thailand...obviously with no public shool and teachers and MUST and HAVE TO DOs