Canada-wide warrant issued for woman accused of abducting daughter to Russia

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued in relation to a child abduction investigation involving a woman accused of taking her daughter from their Cookstown home.

South Simcoe Police has issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of a Russian woman accused of abducting her child last summer.

Investigators say Tegmina Agadzhanyan, 40, took her daughter from Cookstown, Ont. to Russia last August.

It’s alleged she has not returned the child to her former partner Mark Whittaker, and is disobeying a Canadian court order.

“These charges are very serious, and the South Simcoe Police Service took this incident very seriously right from the get-go,” said Det. Sgt. Andrew Smith.

“She is believed to be in Russia, living in Moscow with the child. If the accused in this matter does return to Canada in any province, city, or through any port of entry, she will be taken into custody and brought before the court to answer to those charges that she is currently facing.”

Agadzhanyan is accused of abduction in contravention of a custody or parenting order. Whittaker said she and her family have held his daughter hostage, demanding he pay child and spousal support.

“We even had return plane tickets agreed upon for her to come back,” he told CTV News on Wednesday.

Whittaker says he met Aghadzhanyan online and within a few months she became pregnant; telling him she wanted to live with him in Canada. He said last August when she made plans to visit family in Russia, she ended their relationship and ghosted him.

Whittaker said he has travelled to Russia seven times to see his daughter, visiting her once in March for a few hours under strict conditions.

“Their game or their intentions are to get the child, keep the child there and, you know, under their control and use the system to get the child support, the money,” Whittaker said. He is now trying to convince the Russian government and police to intervene calling on the Canadian government and Prime Minister’s office to help bring his daughter, who was born on Canada Day in 2023, home.

“A court order was obtained however what the Russian courts choose to do with that is still unknown at this time,” said Det. Sgt. Smith who has been investigating since March of this year.

Whitaker said he will be returning to Russia next week for a scheduled hearing, planning to make the Russian court aware of Canada-wide warrant for Agadzhanyan’s arrest.