The man who boarded an international flight with a Saanich woman accused of parental abduction said he had no idea she and two-year-old Kaydance were barred from leaving Canada.
Saanich police say that Lauren Etchells, who is facing one count of abduction by a parent, left Canada on a flight from Vancouver to London on May 8 with Kaydance, her new partner Marco van der Merwe and their newborn child. Investigators have since contacted van der Merwe, believed to be in Qatar, and stated he was unco-operative.
“I did co-operate with the authorities, they just didn’t want to believe what I had to say,” van der Merwe said in an email to the Times Colonist. “I told them I do not know where Miss Etchells is, nor do I have communication with her as she had broken off all communication for fear of being tracked. I also continued to tell them that she told me that she was legally allowed to leave the country. I had no reason not to believe her.”
Etchells is accused of disobeying a provincial court order, issued in August 2015, stating she must surrender Kaydance’s U.K. passport, not apply for a Canadian passport or leave Vancouver Island. The court order was issued after Tasha Brown, Kaydance’s mother and Etchells’ estranged wife, found one-way tickets to Qatar, substantiating fears that Etchells planned to remove Kaydance from Canada. Etchells had copied van der Merwe on flight confirmation emails, Brown said. Etchells is a joint Canadian and U.K. citizen.
Court documents show van der Merwe considered Kaydance his daughter and was involved in the custody battle between Etchells, who gave birth to Kaydance, and Brown, who was fighting for joint custody.
On April 8, a month before the four boarded WestJet flight 22 to London Gatwick Airport, van der Merwe submitted an affidavit to B.C. Supreme Court making the case for Kaydance, Etchells and their newborn child to move to Qatar, where he works.
He and Etchells attended high school together in Qatar and remained friends after Etchells moved to Canada.
Etchells and Brown married in August 2012 and decided to have a child with the help of a sperm donor. Kaydance was born Sept. 26, 2014. The couple separated in July 2015.
Van der Merwe denies Brown’s claim that he was tapped to be a sperm donor for the couple’s second child.
After Etchells disappeared, Brown was worried van der Merwe might try to sponsor them to Qatar through his work.
“I thought if Lauren gets to the Middle East, I am hooped because they are not part of the Hague Convention,” Brown said, referring to the multilateral treaty that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one signatory country to another. Canada and most European countries are signatories to the convention.
Brown emailed van der Merwe’s employer with proof of the Canada-wide arrest warrant against Etchells.
Saanich police acting Sgt. Jereme Leslie said the fear that Etchells and Kaydance could be in the Middle East was part of the reason Saanich police kept details of the abduction quiet for more than four months. Kaydance is not believed to be at risk of physical harm, police say.
Saanich police are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Etchells or Kaydance to call them at 1-888-980-1919 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
