Father finds son 2 years later - by biking in Europe! - LONG ARTICLE

Klingon Hamlet

* Mum flees country with son
* Dad on three-month cycle to find them
* Mother is suffering mental illness

AUSTRALIAN Ken Thompson has spent every day for three months cycling through Europe, looking for his son.

But there is no telling where, when, how or even if his remarkable journey will end.

He says, quite frankly, he doesn't care if it takes the rest of his life, just as long as he finds his little boy.

He has cycled through over half a dozen countries in his desperate search to find his missing son.

Mr Thompson's story is one of love, betrayal, physical determination and weight loss so drastic his jeans once fell down in the middle of a Luxembourg street.

But it also raises a more fundamental question: How far would any of us go to help a loved one?

It is a question the relatives of Australia's 1600 long-term missing persons ask themselves every day.

Some agonise over ways to shed new light on cases which the police have long ago failed to solve - some set up Facebook pages, distribute leaflets, travel vast distances to investigate possible sightings.

But few, if any, respond quite so comprehensively as Ken Thompson.

To understand his story fully, we must go back to 2006.

Mr Thompson had become deputy commissioner of the New South Wales Fire Brigades after a highly distinguished 37-year career as an officer.

He had a great house in the northern Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill, which he shared with his wife Melinda and their healthy, playful two-year-old son.

But it was all about to end as Ms Thompson began showing the first signs of mental illness.

The symptoms were subtle at first.

But they progressed, manifesting themselves in paranoia and false beliefs about various people, including Mr Thompson.

"I didn't realise it at the time, but it started slowly and just escalated, it was terrible," Mr Thompson said.

By December 2007, his wife had been diagnosed by one of Australia's leading psychiatrists as having a paranoia disorder, and left their family home on January 1.

She fled the country with three-year-old Andrew on April 24 after fearing she would lose access to him over the psychatrist's report.

The Australian Federal Police issued a warrant for her arrest and together with Interpol managed to trace her to Frankfurt, but there the trail quickly ran cold.

"I just didn't know what to do," Mr Thompson said.

"I had a job that carried with it a great amount of responsibility, but which I could no longer do properly. I couldn't concentrate.

"I felt like I couldn't do the job justice."

So he took early retirement and began to plot a way to find his son.

A close family friend, who does not want to be named, picks up the story.

"He was sitting in Australia as the police did as much as they could," she said.

"But it got to the point where he thought, "well what can I do?"

"And he knew he could cycle.

"I don't think he'll mind me saying this, but he wasn't the fittest person in the world at that point and he'd suffered a bout of pneumonia in 2008 that he'd had to fight back from.

"He had been under tremendous stress because of it all."

By that point the Family Court of Australia had granted an order lifting a ban on Andrew's name being published, to aid the search.

Mr Thompson got himself fit, organised a bike, set up a website, got a cycling shirt printed with Andrew's face on it and set off for Europe.

His plan was to cycle across the continent, searching everywhere he could for his wife and child.

He landed in London in early May this year, just in time for International Missing Children's Day on May 25.

Then Mr Thompson's real work began.

After cycling to northern England to spread the word about Andrew, Mr Thompson pedalled south, crossed into northern France, and cycled east through Belgium, Luxembourg and into Germany.

He visited Frankfurt and other German locations where Ms Thompson may have been hiding, before moving north again to the Netherlands.

There he handed a letter to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, signed by about 70 families of missing children, calling on the United Nations to update its 30-year-old conventions on child abduction.

Mr Thompson then pedalled back to Hamburg and Berlin, to Poland and then back to Germany. On Wednesday was in Zittau, on the Czech Republic-German border.

He now plans to cycle to Prague, then to Switzerland and south to Spain, Italy and beyond as the northern winter draws in.

All the time he'll be looking for Andrew, looking for his wife and highlighting the plight of missing persons everywhere.

When will he stop?

"I don't know. I'll keep going as long as I can," he said.

"I'll do whatever it takes. He's my son. I'm responsible for him. I miss him, I love him. I'll just keep going until I find him."

Article here

I've been following this story for months now and it's very sad. I don't know what started the mum's psychological problems but she should never have been allowed run off with the little fella. Now the big problem is she's probably too frightened to come back with him. How do you solve that? Maybe issue a vow by Australian government that she can return with Andrew without any legal consequences? Is that even possible now??

It's heartbreaking to know this happens every day worldwide. Ken deserves huge praise for his inner strength and conviction. Imagine cycling so far for so long, with only your fears and anguish to keep you company.

I haven't seen anyhting on the news yet about this. Will do a search online. Maybe if it gets more coverage, Melinda will return Andrew, or someone will recognise them and alert the authorities. Let's hope it's the former option. Maybe this could have a happy ending soon.

My thoughts are with Andrew, Ken and Melinda.

King Felix

A bit pointless, I would have thought.

There must be easier ways of tracking people down than cycling around a continent in the random hope you'll bump into them.

Minstrel27

King Felix wrote: »

A bit pointless, I would have thought.

There must be easier ways of tracking people down than cycling around a continent in the random hope you'll bump into them.

It brings the story to peoples attention. This way someone may spot the mother and son.

King Felix

Minstrel27 wrote: »

It brings the story to peoples attention. This way someone may spot the mother and son.

I didn't see the bit about the t-shirt etc.

I'll read the article before posting next time.

By December 2007, his wife had been diagnosed by one of Australia's leading psychiatrists as having a paranoia disorder, and left their family home on January 1.

She fled the country with three-year-old Andrew on April 24 after fearing she would lose access to him over the psychatrist's report.



Irony.

midlandsmissus

I've been that child. Parental abduction is the term for it. Parents from 2 different countries and My mam did a midnight flit. Very damaging all round. I might get in touch with him actually to offer support.

Klingon Hamlet

Here's the Facebook Causes link:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/179688/37307784?m=71bb3202

Please add it and spread the word!

grizzly

Fair fúcks to him for the effort involved. Don't think many other fathers would go to these lengths.

bonerm

Australians. Doing things the stupid way since 1770.

Klingon Hamlet

bonerm wrote: »

Australians. Doing things the stupid way since 1770.

What would you do?

Micky Dolenz

grizzly wrote: »

Fair fúcks to him for the effort involved. Don't think many other fathers would go to these lengths.

Really, I would think there are plenty of Fathers that would search high and low for their children.

Biggins

Long Article.

Father tracks down son in Europe two years after his abduction

Ken Thompson’s plan to cycle around Europe looking for his abducted son seemed like a crazy gesture by a desperate dad after all else had failed.
The former fire chief took early retirement to search for six-year-old Andrew, uncertain where to begin but unable to sit at home in Australia while memories faded of the little boy snatched away by his mother in April 2008.

After a three-month odyssey taking in nine countries and 6,500km, Mr Thompson, 57, still cannot quite believe that he has found his lost son.
“My feelings are really hard to describe,” he said today, as he waited in Amsterdam for a reunion with the child who was just 3 when he and his mother boarded a plane for Frankfurt and disappeared.

“I have been living in turmoil for two-and-a-half years and I’ve still got that sense of uncertainty and disempowerment and not knowing what to do.
“But today I feel for the first time that Andrew is safe.”

Mr Thompson set off from Australia on May 13 with a mission to visit various European cities where he thought his wife, a fluent speaker of German and French, could have taken their only child.
“I had no idea where he was in the world,” he said. “I assumed he was somewhere in Europe but I didn’t know.”

Mr Thompson’s wife made allegations about him but police in Australia say he has no case to answer and he was exonerated by a Family Court which agreed to his request to go public with his appeal for Andrew.
“I didn’t want Andrew to be known as the child who had been abducted and I didn’t want his mother to be known as the mother who abducted but I had no choice,” he said.

“We decided to use the internet to get as much media as possible. We were doing it from Australia without a single lead so I just thought, I’ve got to go to Europe.”

The publicity generated by his cycle tour from London to Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Czech Republic paid off. A woman in Amsterdam was suspicious about the new mother and child that turned up at her school and found Mr Thompson’s website when she put “missing child Australia” into a search engine.
Her anonymous e-mail to Mr Thompson arrived last Sunday - Father’s Day in Australia.

“I was about 50km from Stuttgart. I thought, is this some kind of joke? The authorities in Australia said they thought it was a cruel Father’s Day hoax.”
Another attempt to verify the tip-off failed but a few days later the Amsterdam police were in touch to say that Andrew had been placed in a centre for children and his mother detained. Still it was hard to take in. He had already cycled through Amsterdam and passed just two miles from where his son had been enrolled in school under a different name.

“It was not until yesterday afternoon when I walked into the police station in Amsterdam and met with the police officer that I thought, it’s true.”
Mr Thompson now faces a few more days of waiting before a reunion can be arranged.

“One part of me just wants to rush in and see my son after all this time but I know it has got to be handled very carefully,” he said.
“He has not seen me for two-and-a-half years and I don’t know what he’s been told about me but I am sure it is not good. I am working with the authorities here.

“I will be meeting with a child psychologist who will be working with Andrew to prepare him for everything. Then the psychologist will join me and Andrew will be reintroduced.”

Mr Thompson hopes that Andrew’s favourite toy will help the reunion. The cuddly toy fireman named Bernie Cinders - used by Mr Thompson in his old job as deputy fire service chief for New South Wales to educate children about fire - has been strapped to his bike throughout the search.
“When I left Australia, I thought, if this leads to Andrew I need something that he might recognise. I saw Bernie sitting on his bed and I thought, ‘Bernie’s going on a long ride’.”

Source: http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/9523/wwwthetimescoukttonewswe.jpg

His site: http://www.findandrew.com/

On his bike: http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5917/cycle155289c.jpg

Pookah

It was great the way he went around raleighing up support like that.

Gunsfortoys

Fair play to him, maybe he can take the bitch to court for custody, see how she likes it.

Biggins

All joking aside, sometimes there are no limits to a love that can be reached for the sake of a loved one.
He's one lucky man and a dad any child could be proud of.

Gone West

great story, a number of boards heads had his appeal in their signatures.
Good to see a happy ending.

mikom

Biggins wrote: »

All joking aside, sometimes there are no limits to a love that can be reached for the sake of a loved one.
He's one lucky man and a dad any child could be proud of.

You are a true spokesman for bicycle riding fathers everywhere Biggins.

Kimono-Girl

I am so glad he found him!:D

No father should have to go through what he did but finding him was a miracle in itself!

i was following his story after seeing it in the parenting section, that has made my day knowing at least one child has been found!

kylith

Very, very good news indeed!

philologos

Amazing. Stuff like this gives you faith in humanity bit by bit!

Skinfull

He truly does embiggin the spirit of fatherhood

Terry

It's a fake.
Links to follow.

Biggins

Terry wrote: »

It's a fake.
Links to follow.

?

I'd be surprised if thats true. The Times doesn't usually post fake stories.
...But no one's perfect if so!

kelle

That's fantastic news! The power of the internet is amazing.

philologos

By the by Biggins, why do you screenshot all your articles rather than just linking them? Just curious?

Carl Sagan

Terry wrote: »

It's a fake.
Links to follow.

What's all this then?

Biggins

Terry wrote: »

It's a fake.
Links to follow.

Himmmm... I'd be very shocked to be honest.

The Australian Sunday Morning Herald:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/after-almost-three-years-missing-son-finally-surfaces-20100909-151lr.html

Mr Benevolent

It's not on the Times website any more.

Fittle

I had the biggest smile ever when I read that he found him, as I'd also been following the story for a while.

I sincerely hope it's not a fake...

Biggins

Jakkass wrote: »

By the by Biggins, why do you screenshot all your articles rather than just linking them? Just curious?

A few people ask me this - the answer is simple.

The Times paper is now pay per view.
You cannot click into a Times current article UNLESS you have a registered paid subscription with them.

---

Listed two strong sources now that he's been found - awaiting to see what Terry posts.
I hope its not fake news.

Terry

I can't find the link now, but it had something to do with the Luther Blisset Project's offspring.
http://www.lutherblissett.net/

Biggins

Confab wrote: »

It's not on the Times website any more.

YES - it is!
Link: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article2722023.ece

Front page: http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3200/wwwthetimescoukttonews.jpg

Mr Benevolent

Terry wrote: »

I can't find the link now, but it had something to do with the Luther Blisset Project's offspring.
http://www.lutherblissett.net/

Ah Terry, you'll have to do better than that!

Biggins

Earlier links before child was found:

http://sg.theasianparent.com/articles/missing-andrew-john-thompson

http://www.news.com.au/world/dad-cycles-europe-in-desperate-search-for-son/story-e6frfkyi-1225910835975

http://www.causes.com/causes/179688

---

FATHER AND SON REUNITED - VIDEO NEWS CLIP! - includes 7 minute interview with father.

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/father-and-son-reunited/x4bk2h9

Minstrel27

Where are all the people that ridiculed this man for searching for his son in this way.

ironictoaster

Didn't someone on boards have a find andrew signature? I could have sworn someone had it as their sig.

Biggins

He sounds like a very decent man, he still wishes his sons mother best wishes and hopes she gets help.
He is still very respectful towards her.

Nice man indeed.

DOC09UNAM

He didn't exactly find him on the bike did he, he could have done the same thing with a car, and alot quicker.

Biggins

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

He didn't exactly find him on the bike did he, he could have done the same thing with a car, and a lot quicker.

By his biking, it generated publicity wherever he went. It worked in his favour.
I think your being rather picky - ok, he didn't fall across his son in the road one day as he was driving by, but by god he found his son by use of the bike and by using it in Europe while doing a search.

Jeeze...

Yakult

A big fair play to him for not given up and a big FU to he's mother/ex-wife. Hope she gets hit by the book, many times. :mad:

nlgbbbblth

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Where are all the people that ridiculed this man for searching for his son in this way.

hanging out with Terry.

Wolfe Tone

This is absolutely fcuking terrific. I have been following his journey intently on facebook. I hoped, but I thought it was a futile attempt. Fair play to the man. Fair play.

kev9100

That is incredible! I mean, the odds on him finding his son must have been at least a million to one! If I was him, I wouldn't be so forgiving to his ex-wife.

Klingon Hamlet

LINKY

He might have found his son after two years searching, but bringing the boy home to Australia is not yet a reality for Ken Thompson.

The former deputy NSW fire chief was told on Thursday his six-year-old son Andrew had been found after being missing for two years.

The boy's mother Melinda Stratton fled Australia with their child, vanishing the moment the pair stepped off a flight to Frankfurt.

Mr Thompson's euphoria has now been replaced with a waiting game.

Exhausted, he waits in Amsterdam to be reunited with his son, having not slept in three days.

He is yet to be shown a recent photograph of Andrew and said he initially found it hard to accept his son was found.

"I thought it was a hoax," Mr Thompson said yesterday.

"The Australian Embassy assured me it was him but when I woke up today I had my doubts.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

"The only way it has been proved was when I met with the police and they told me it was him."

Andrew is currently in foster care in Amsterdam.

Child psychologists are preparing him to meet his father and Mr Thompson has been told the reunion could be days or even a week away.

"I can't expect him to walk through the door and throw his arms around me," Mr Thompson said.

Once reunited with Andrew, Mr Thompson must then undergo a complex court case under the Hague Abduction Convention in the hope of taking his son back to their home in Hunters Hill, Sydney.

Ms Stratton is in custody in Amsterdam awaiting the hearing.

The Hague Convention treaty helps internationally abducted children be returned to parents.

But it is no guarantee Andrew can leave the Netherlands, where he is believed to have been living for the past year.

"The Australian Government has to write to The Hague and I've still got to find lawyers to represent me in court," he said.

Four months ago Mr Thompson quit his job to cycle around Europe wearing a photo of his missing son on a T-shirt to raise awareness.

"A few days before I was told Andrew had been found I was very low," he said.

The true hero, according to Mr Thompson, was the person who noticed something was not right with Andrew and Melinda's situation and Googled the boy's first name and the word "missing".

The result was hundreds of pages dedicated to the missing child and hundreds of Interpol alerts.

Biggins

grizzly wrote: »

Fair fúcks to him for the effort involved. Don't think many other fathers would go to these lengths.

You'd be surprised then.

Biggins

Well miracles do happen thankfully.

Just the relief of knowing after two and a half years missing, where he is and how he is, must be something else.
I couldn't even begin to imagine.

What a dad!

When he arrives back in the country, hopefully someday with his son, what a welcome they are going to get!

Bloody Nipples

Fair play to the guy who noticed it, he had his eye on the ball.

karlog

Nice bike

aDeener

Klingon Hamlet wrote: »

What would you do?

drive

dlofnep

What a legend. Glad to hear he found his son. Doesn't say anything about the wife though. She deserves a good box in the jaw.

Biggins

karlog wrote: »

Nice bike

The wife was not bad too. Just a pity there was mental health issues but then it happens to the best of folk sadly.