By Leigh Mcmanus For Mailonline
Published: 15:20 GMT, 1 March 2019 | Updated: 15:26 GMT, 1 March 2019
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A frantic mother has not seen her two daughters in 72 days after their father allegedly took them to the Caribbean for Christmas but didn't return.
After leaving them to spend the festive period with her ex-husband, Jana Khan said she had expected them to return a few days later as agreed.
But unbeknownst to her, on Christmas Eve 10-year-old Savannah and eight-year-old Constance were put on a plane and flown nearly 7000 km away to Tobago, she said.
Mrs Khan, from Thornaby, North Yorkshire said the first she knew they were in a foreign country was when she received a text from her former partner Shahdiek Khan.
Jana Khan holding portraits of her two daughters, 10-year-old Savannah and eight-year-old Constance
Text messages assured her they were safe and well and would be returning at the end of January.
But the girls never boarded the plane to return to the UK according to their mother.
Cleveland Police and the Foreign Office have both confirmed they are investigating.
A child is considered abducted if he or she is removed by one parent without the other parent's consent.
Parental child abduction occurs when a person who is connected to a child takes them away from their country of habitual residence, that is the country they normally reside in, without the permission of either those with parental responsibility or the courts, according to The Family Law Co.
Under the Child Abduction Act of 1984, it is a criminal offence for anyone connected with a child to take them out of the UK for more than 28 days without the consent of any other person who has parental responsibility for that child or a consenting order from the courts. A person is connected with the child if they are parent of the child, guardian or special guardian, anyone who has a residence order for the child or who has the child living with them.
Those
