Last week we wrote about a child abduction involving a young girl who was abducted by her mother and then taken to Europe in violation of a child custody order. That story had a happy ending as the young girl was returned to her custodial father.

However, child abductions following a divorce are very common in the United States, and few have a happy ending. This week we'll discuss this issue in greater detail and explore how one bereaved father is trying to fight back.

Abductions following a divorce are more common than most realize. U.S. State Department statistics show that since 1994 there have been 231 cases of parental abductions involving 321 children.

One U.S. father lost his two-year-old son after a 2008 divorce from his Japanese wife. Though the judge granted shared child custody, his wife took their child and fled to Japan. He has not seen his son in two years.

Unfortunately, Japan is the only major industrial country that did not sign the 1980 Hague Convention. This means that they have not agreed to return wrongly held children back to their countries of usual residence. Because of this, Japan has become a safe haven for many parents who abduct their children.

The father has decided to fight back in the only way he can. Since he has not been able to regain custody of his son, he has filed a lawsuit against the airline that helped his ex-wife flee the country. The lawsuit alleges that Japan Airlines and a travel company knowingly assisted his ex-wife's plans to abduct his son.

Check back later this week as we continue our discussion about international child abductions.

Source: brisbanetimes.com.au, "Father sues Japan Airlines after ex-wife left with son," 18 April 2011