Taken US child found safe in Australia
AP November 23, 2013, 6:50 am
An American woman found in Australia is facing extradition back to the US for taking her infant daughter from the Isle of Palms 20 years ago, federal authorities say.
On Thursday, US Attorney Bill Nettles said an indictment had been unsealed charging Dorothy Lee Barnett, 53, with international parental kidnapping and making a false statement on a passport application.
Barnett did not have custody of her then 10-month-old daughter Savanna Catherine Todd when she left in 1994, Nettles said.
At the time, police said Barnett - who in 1993 filed for divorce from her husband, former Charleston stockbroker Benjamin Harris Todd III - left for a birthday party with her daughter and never returned.
Authorities said Barnett was located in Australia earlier this month and had been living under several aliases.
Nettles said that Todd, who is now 20, was also found in Australia and is living a normal life.
Federal authorities have not given details on how they tracked Barnett down.
In a news release, Nettles said federal law enforcement agencies from the US and Australia cooperated on the case.
Court papers show that an arrest warrant was issued for Barnett in 1994.
Barnett has been denied bond pending extradition back to the US, where no court date has been set, Nettles said.
If convicted on all charges, she could face more than 20 years in prison, and court papers listed no attorney for her.
