2004-09-15 Mel Mabbott-3 Regains Kids, BCTV.MP3

2004-09-15  Fugitive couple  (Mabbott) turn up in Victoria; MISINFORMATION

2004-09-15  Cops hunt dad <MelMabbott> in alleged abduction

2004-09-14 Mel Mabbott-1 Lost Custody In Abstentia BCTV.MP3

2004-09-14 MelMabbott-2 - "Fugitive" turns himself in to RCMP, BCTV.MP3

More:  Testimonials:  Mabbot, Mel:  Wrongful Arrest;
Issues: Ex Parte Orders

Dad's fight for kids blocked at every turn, 2002-01-20

2002-01-20  Dad's fight <Mel Mabbott's> for kids blocked at every turn

"Mel Mabbott has been to court 52 times in his fight to remain a dad to his kids....It's cost him $150,000 in legal bills and $750,000 in lost wages and business deals. He's sold his farm and his house and been charged with abducting his own children." 

"He's sold his farm and his house and been charged with abducting his own children. "I've lost everything," says the 40-year-old oilfield worker.

"But what about the damage that's been done to these kids? I've got a little girl who is suffering with depression. Jared has a hard time going to sleep at night because he's afraid."

"He said an investigation of his case is needed because government incompetence has inflicted "huge" emotional damage on his kids and has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"His ex-wife <Teresa Anne Howe,> described later in MINISTRY documents (which Mabbott finally obtained through a court order) as "frequently intoxicated," on "drinking binges" and having continuing "substance abuse issues" -- has been in and out of hospital psychiatric wards, detox and recovery programs with little success".

"The children lived with their dad after the parents split, but spent the summer of 1998 with their mom in BC on an access visit."

"At the end of the summer, with the help of Legal Aid, and without Mabbott's knowledge (notice was not served on him) <Ex Parte Orders>, she obtained day-to-day care of the children from an Alberta court, although no decision was made on legal custody."

"The next summer, the children visited their dad in Calgary. The next summer, the children visited their dad in Calgary."

"Despite calls from their mom's neighbors to Mabbott and to the BC Children's Ministry that the kids were being neglected, the ministry insisted that the court's decision <Ex Parte Orders> be followed and Mabbott return the children to mom. It was not until April 2000 that the ministry determined that the children were at risk in their mother's care. The kids were apprehended and placed in foster care".

"Meanwhile, said Mabbott, the ministry failed to inform him that it had scooped the kids, despite the fact that they had his address and phone number. .."

Read the complete article http://www.canada.com/ ... (long link) ... 7D . 7D.

"He's lucky he had money to fight the child welfare people there in Canada. Many people in his situation would have to give up for lack of funds. This is the story of a parental custody dispute that turned into a child welfare case"  --Kathy Tait

Charges against `fugitive' father <Mel Mabbott> dropped after <wrongful> arrest, 2004-09-xx

"A B.C. Supreme Court order that granted a man's ex-wife interim custody of their three children was overturned yesterday after four days of legal wrangling and evading police. ..  It was a happy conclusion for Melvin Ronald Mabbott, 43, whose day began in Victoria with an arrest.   ..  Both Mabbott and his wife, Joan Elizabeth Thomson, 49, were arrested for breach of a court order at about 10:45 a.m. by sheriffs who'd been alerted about warrants issued by Williams Lake RCMP on Monday.

"We were alerted that Ms. Thomson and Mr. Mabbott were in the courthouse and we were also alerted that there was a Canada-wide warrant out for them in Williams Lake," said Sheriff James Lee. "They were here to make an application to have an order set aside, and just because the warrants were outstanding, I still had to execute them."

Doug Christie, Mabbott's lawyer, said the charge was stayed later yesterday.  "He came here to set aside a court order, but that's not breaching it," said Christie.

The legal feud began Sept. 10 when Mabbott's ex-wife, Teresa Anne Howe, was granted interim custody of their children pending a trial on the issue of Howe's access to the kids.

But Christie said Mabbott was not served notice of the application and didn't even know about the court hearing. When Mounties phoned Mabbott on Sunday afternoon to tell him he had to turn over his three children Jared, 13, Taya, 9, and Ashley, 8 - to his ex-wife, Mabbott refused.

Police issued a warrant the next day.

Yesterday, Christie said issues of access were settled in court and Mabbott and Thomson were allowed to return to their home in Alberta, where the children are staying. The family had moved from Williams Lake to Alberta about three weeks ago because of Mabbott's work.

Christie said he is considering a lawsuit against Williams Lake RCMP, who issued a press release Monday alerting the public that police were concerned about the children's safety and were looking for information on Mabbott's whereabouts.

Christie said a suggestion that Mabbott may harm his children was "totally unnecessary ... it created alarm. It was both unjustified and highly defamatory."

Mel Mabbott's Wrongful Arrest

Mel Mabbott - Google Search
Mel Mabbott, bc - Google Video

"Mel Mabbott has been to court 52 times in his fight to remain a dad to his kids....It's cost him $150,000 in legal bills and $750,000 in lost wages and business deals. He's sold his farm and his house and been charged with abducting his own children." 

2002-01-20  Dad's fight <Mel Mabbott's> for kids blocked at every turn

More:  Testimonials:  Mabbot, Mel:  Wrongful Arrest;
Issues: Ex Parte Orders