The Child Snatchers

Book excerpt: Child abduction has impacted everyone from royalty to a-list movie stars. It is estimated that every year at least 500 children will be abducted from Australia, overseas. Many more will be abducted within our shores, making Australia one of the highest ranking parent-child abduction hotspots in the world. The Child Snatchers takes an investigative look at some of Australia's more notorious cases. Sally Faulkner, who found herself in a Beirut prison for trying to bring her children back to Australia; The four Vincenti sisters, brought to Australia and returned to Italy under traumatic circumstances; Dorothy Lee Barnett, wanted for abduction by the FBI for 20 years, finally found on the Sunshine Coast. Each of these stories are deeply personal, highly complex and frighteningly true. Were they a desperate act of protection; or a despicable act of revenge? The Child Snatchers explores the too-often bitter nature of separation and divorce, and our heavy reliance on the overburdened Australian Family Law system. It brings you the heartfelt, true accounts of left-behind parents and the children they longed for. Some are heart-warming, successful recoveries; others may never see their children again. All will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.