Father Abducts Daughter for Life in Jordan, Recounts Book Author
A woman recounts the trauma of being taken from her home at age seven by her father, who planned to permanently relocate her to Jordan.
Lauren Burns, now 46, detailed in her memoir, "Stolen: A True Story – Kidnapped, Rescued, Redeemed," the harrowing experience of being abducted by her father.
Burns was seven years old when her father told her they were embarking on a surprise vacation to Jordan. She trusted him, unaware that his intentions were to permanently remove her from her mother's care and raise her with his extended family in his native country. The plan was set in motion over Halloween weekend, a stark contrast to the trick-or-treating festivities she had anticipated. Instead of a costume, she was met with an unspeakable plot that would shatter her sense of normalcy.
For years after her return to the United States, Burns struggled to regain a sense of stability, her childhood irrevocably altered by her father's actions. The mission to locate and retrieve Burns from Jordan and bring her safely back to the U.S. was described as dangerous.
Her mother, Cathy Mahone, exhausted her life savings, totaling $80,000, to facilitate the rescue operation and ensure her daughter's safe return to America. The success of the mission hinged on Burns and Mahone safely crossing into Israel.
Burns's story highlights the profound and lasting impact of parental abduction and the complex, often perilous, efforts required to reunite families.