A CHILD’S appearance can be altered in minutes and speed is of the essence when trying to track down their abductor, an expert in the area of child abduction has warned.

CHILD abductions reached an all-time high last year with 111 new cases.

THERE could be an increase in the number of children being taken from Ireland to countries that have not signed up to the Hague Convention, the Irish Centre for Parentally Abducted Children (ICPAC) warned yesterday.

IT is of small comfort to Christine O’Sullivan that the tragic end to the parental abduction case she was embroiled in was exceptional, Justice Minister Michael McDowell told a conference yesterday.