Kentucky father violates custody order, flees country with sons

It doesn't take long for some divorces into Kentucky to become emotionally charged, particularly when children are involved. Unfortunately, heated battles about child custody can last for years, and could even result in an international abduction. Recently, a Kentucky father abducted his own children, taking them out of the state -- and, in fact, out of the nation.

According to authorities, the Kentucky father took his two sons, ages six and ten, and fled to Hidalgo, Mexico in violation of his child custody order. The father had visitation with the children at the time of the abduction. Police stated that the man was supposed to meet the children's big sister at an area McDonald's restaurant to return the children to their mother. The man phoned the sister requesting four additional hours of visitation time. Unfortunately, he never showed up at the restaurant.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations, along with the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs, are on the case. The father apparently did not cross into Mexico at an established customs crossing point. The children do not speak Spanish, and have never visited Mexico. Under the current custody order, the man had visitation with his children twice monthly.

The couple had been married for twenty years when the woman fled to a women's shelter with the children. The woman claims that the man had threatened to kidnap the children in the past, which is documented in a 2014 domestic violence protection order.

Fleeing the state in violation of a custody order can only bring trouble to the abducting parent and have a negative effect on the children involved. In the end, if a person is unhappy with his or her current child custody situation, that person may want to petition the court for a modification of his or her custody order, rather than violating it.