Mom Finds Kidnapped Kids Using Facebook

It turns out Facebook can be useful for more than hunting down your high school buddies and long-lost sweethearts. According to a recent report, it seems one woman used the popular social networking site to find two of her children, kidnapped in 1995.

The woman, who lives in San Bernardino, California, has not yet been named. However, what we do know is that she used Facebook to find her children, who in 1995 were abducted by her then-husband. The tykes were just two and three years old when they were taken from their mother.

New Technologies Make Staying Hidden Harder

Back in the mid-90s, there weren't platforms like Facebook -- in fact, few people even had basic Internet access that could be used for finding long lost loved ones. For better or worse, however, that has changed dramatically.

It was March of this year that the San Bernardino woman used Facebook to track down one of her children, a daughter now in her teens. The report, which was originally filed through KCCI.com and later MSNBC, stated that the mother was able to make contact with the teen and exchange several follow-up messages.

Happy Ending Not Expected

Unfortunately, the warm exchanges didn't last long. "The teenager said, 'Not interested in a relationship. We just have a happy life. Leave us alone,'" said San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Kurt Rowley. Soon after, the teen's profile disappeared from Facebook, prompting the mother to contact the authorities. They were able to track the teenagers to Florida. (Source: cnet.com)

Once evidence of a connection between the woman and the children was shown, the father who abducted them fifteen years ago was arrested, charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of violating child custody orders. The teens were then put under the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, with the mother being granted custody.

There may not be a fairytale ending, however. It's expected the teens' adjustment to life with their mother could be a difficult one after so many years apart. "There is no relationship there. You don't have that immediate joyful reunification," said a Department of Children and Families spokesperson. (Source: msn.com)