For the Lost Blog

Child Find of America offers a series of yearly PDF files on their site that summarize some of the cases they have dealt with that year. I just recently found them, and one, although from 2006, shows a very good example of what can and should be done in a family abduction recovery.

Bijanjon Kavoossi was abducted by his mother from Ohio in 1996. Ten years later he was found in Greece. Child Find and NCMEC were working together to help with Bijanjon’s reunion with his father in the United States. They asked his mother not be arrested in front of him, and mentioned that a “domestic violence” situation in Greece may complicate matters. (The file is not more explicit about that and I am not sure the precise complications that may have resulted.) He was flown into JFK airport, where individuals with both organizations met with him and took him to the hotel where his father awaited him. The father had been told to bring pictures and familiar toys to make the reunion easier. Bijanjon reacted in a typical manner for most family abduction situations. He felt bad his mother had abducted him, but he was also concerned about whether he would see her again. He also wondered where his father had been, whether he loved him, and whether he had been looking for him. He met with his father again in an emotional reunion, and they began to build a relationship again both on what was in the past and what they might share in the future.

The whole situation was well thought out and gave attention to what would be a difficult situation. If not all family abduction recoveries have these circumstances, many should. It should stand as an excellent example.

I was doing some web research for the case file of Gabriel Johnson, who I’ve posted about several times before and plan to add to the site in June. I learned that Elizabeth Johnson’s mother was Rosslyn Puckett. And her aunt (Rosslyn’s sister) was… Jane Puckett. Who went missing in 1977, believed to have been abducted, and was found safe last year.

Does it mean anything? Well, no, probably. But this is even weirder than the Shannon Dedrick/Paul Baker connection.

Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem. I had known about her case for some time but I was unaware her father was also charged with kidnapping her. She will be added to the victims list, and I am now too drained for tears.