A Belgian expat father is alleged to have snatched his young daughter away from her British mother this week in Alicante, Spain.
Kyshan Van Der Zanden, 22, told his partner, British Gemma Mountney, 21, that he was taking his daughter to nursery. He also ensured that she was out of the house for much of the day having given her shopping vouchers and a visit to the spa.
During that time, he packed his belongings and those of his 21-month-old daughter Laylah. They left their home in the coastal town of Calpe.
Their absence was not discovered until early evening when Ms Mountney arrived at the nursery to pick up her daughter.
Ms Mountney, now a full-time mother, moved to Spain from Thame, Oxfordshire ten years ago with her family. She met Van Der Zanden three years ago.
She reported that their relationship felt fine. “When he came back from apparently dropping her off at nursery, he gave me a kiss and told me he loved me”.
Spanish police are now treating the case as a kidnapping and has issued alerts to airports and ports around Europe.
The mother did notice two weeks ago that Laylah’s passport was missing, but Van Der Zanden said he thought they had been misplaced and offered to organise a replacement.
She fears that Laylah and her father might have returned to Belgium where his parents live or possibly in Dubai where his father has business contacts.
The charity International Child Abduction Centre is involved in helping the family. It said “Once we know where the little girl has been taken, we can then help the mother decide what the best option is with regard to getting her back safely.”
“Unfortunately, cases like this are rising and we are now seeing over 500 cases per year of children being abducted by their parents,” it noted.
