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Canadian Mom Gets Her Missing Kids Back After 4 Years

Flickr photo/ dcosand

If you ask school administrators what the greatest danger to children is, they’ll tell you: it’s not rogue shooters; it’s parents who abduct their own children in defiance of custody agreements.

That’s the realization Canadian Emily Cableck faced when her children’s biological father didn’t show up with the kids like he was supposed to. The awful feeling she felt in her gut grew and grew as the manhunt dragged on over days, then weeks and then months. Naturally, she was consumed by the need to reunite with her children. But at some point, a person has to eat and go to work so they don’t end up on the street. And so, they learn to compartmentalize.

Living With Loss

This is how Emily lived for four years. One part of her mind held on to the grief, which threatened to overwhelm her constantly. In the other part of her mind she controlled the basic functions of eating, sleeping and working.

Then, her husband was found, in Mexico. He was apprehended and her children, found. And her newfound ability to live one day at a time had prepared her for another long journey: the awkward process of reconnecting with the children she hadn’t seen in almost four years.

Her story today, on KUOW Presents.

Other stories on KUOW Presents, Thursday, April 18: