Legal News

A British father is searching for his two young daughters who may have been abducted by their Thai mother while on a visit to Thailand during the school holidays.

Annie Day, aged 10, and Alina, aged six, were visiting their mother, 33-year-old Onwarat Gamlem – known as “Wig” – and failed to return to the UK after their half-term holiday.

The schoolgirls live with their father Robert Day in Sevenoaks in Kent – but it is believed that Ms Gamlem has disappeared with them from their home in Thailand, together with and her young son from another relationship.

The two schoolgirls have lived with Mr Day since their parents divorced in June 2010. They were due to return from Pattaya on 1 June. It is thought Ms Gamlem has removed the SIM cards from her mobile phone and those belonging to her children to prevent them from being traced using GPS.

The girls’ father Robert – a 38-year-old auctioneer and stonemason – has remained in Thailand to try and find them, the Daily Mail reports.

Mr Day lives with his parents Gordon and Betty Day, who told the newspaper that their granddaughters visit Thailand every year at May half-term to stay with their mother.

Mr Day was granted full custody of his daughters after the couple divorced. He flew out to Thailand on 25 May with his daughters – and his former wife was due to meet him at Pattaya airport on 1 June to reunite him with his daughters so they could fly back to the UK with him. However, Ms Gamlem failed to turn up at the airport with the children, leaving Mr Day to mount a search for them in Thailand.

Mr Day’s parents said that their former daughter-in-law had left their son after marrying him and had filed for divorce – the girls had been born in Thailand but go to school in England.

Mrs Day said:

“It’s shocking – we can’t think or sleep and just want the girls back with us. This is their home.”

Thai police are reported to be working in collaboration with Interpol to try and trace Ms Gamlem and her children, including a three-year-old boy.

The abduction was discovered when her home was visited after she failed to keep the meeting at Pattaya airport to return her daughters to their father – she had fled the house she lived in and the Sim cards from the mobile phones were discovered removed from the handsets.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Ms Gamlem.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed that it has been made aware of the hunt for the missing schoolgirls. A spokesman said:

“We are aware of reports of two missing British nationals in Thailand and are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”

Duncan Lewis Child Abduction Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist child abduction solicitors – and Duncan Lewis is one of only 28 UK firms on the Lord Chancellor’s Child Abduction and Contract Panel.

Child abduction happens when a child under 16 is removed from their country of residence without the appropriate consent of the parents or the responsible parent or guardian.

If a child has been removed by one parent without the consent of the other, this qualifies as child abduction under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction 1989 and The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children 1996.

Under this legislation, children who have been unlawfully removed from their country of habitual residence can be returned immediately.

Child abduction can be a complex area of the law – but Duncan Lewis child abduction solicitors offer sympathetic and effective legal advice in child abduction cases, to ensure that an immediate application can be made to the courts of the country where a child has been taken for their safe return.

For expert legal advice on child abduction cases, contact Duncan Lewis child abduction lawyers on 020 7923 4020.