Mother undertakes desperate search for missing son in Vietnam

A Toronto mother is searching for her three-year-old son in Vietnam after his father allegedly abducted him.

Heather McArthur last saw her son, Jacob, on February 7th – the day 41-year-old Loc Phu “Jay” Le took him to Vietnam. It was a trip she never wanted him to take.

“My son’s father obtained a court order that if I didn’t give my child over to the father for them to depart for the Lunar New Year, that the Toronto Police Service or the RCMP were authorized to take my child and deliver him to his father,” she tells CityNews.

“Since that time I haven’t had any communication from the father or my child.”

Jacob was set to return on February 15th. However, when Le emailed McArthur telling her he would not be bringing her son back to Canada due to a medical reason, McArthur’s greatest fear came true – she believed this was an abduction. Since early April she’s been in Ho Chi Mihn City searching for her son in a city of nine million people.

Toronto police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Le for parental abduction, telling CityNews in a statement “At this time, we’re hoping someone in Canada or internationally will see this picture, reach out to the father and add that pressure to return the child to his mother in Canada.”

“It’s also been identified that they travelled to Vietnam with another man. And so I’m urging police to release the identity of that person,” she said.

McArthur says she won’t leave Vietnam without her son, adding she’s able to continue her search thanks to the support she’s received from her gofundme campaign which has so far raised more than $23,000. McArthur says she’s been able to retain legal counsel in Vietnam and is currently pursuing all legal avenues to ensure Jacob’s safe return.

“It’s been almost a hundred days and my son, I know, is missing me and I wanna be able to bring him home.”

McArthur has also called on the federal government for support in engaging Vietnamese authorities in the search for Jacob. Global Affairs Canada tells CityNews it is aware a Canadian child has been abducted to Vietnam.

“International parental child abductions can be complicated to resolve, even when there is a clear Canadian court order in existence. This is because many countries do not recognize foreign family court orders,” the agency said in a statement.