A young B.C. woman stands to be reunited with the father and half-brothers she never knew, following the arrest of her mother in an 18-year-old abduction case.
Police on Thursday arrested Patricia O'Byrne, 54, in Victoria on charges of parental abduction. O'Byrne is accused of abducting her then-infant daughter in May 1993 while in the midst of a custody dispute with the girl's father.
Joe Chisholm of Toronto has been searching ever since -- following leads across Canada and Europe -- and says he's thrilled that he might finally see his daughter, who is now 20.
But despite the culmination of his search, he notes though that his daughter's life has been changed forever.
"The ball's in her court to contact us," Chisholm told CTV Toronto. "I mean, (she) is dealing with a part of her past that she thought was true that isn't true. And her mother being arrested, right?"
"She doesn't feel liberated, you know? Her life has been turned upside down."
Chisholm set up a blog describing the case, and since 2008 has been posted videos addressed to his daughter on YouTube -- noting special occasions such as her birthday, introducing other family members and showing clips from old, home movies in the hope that his daughter would see them.
Police say her mother was arrested following a tip to the Missing Children Society of Canada that she might be living on Vancouver Island. O'Byrne, at times, was also thought to be in the U.K. or Spain.
In fact, she was living in B.C. under an alias and working as a government communications rep. She was also on the parental committee of her daughter's school.
O'Byrne is due to appear in court in Toronto on Monday. The abducted girl has been put in touch with support groups, police said.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney
