Father of girl abducted by mother: 'I’m worried she thinks I don’t care'

The father of an eight-year-old girl taken to America by her mother has said he will not stop until he is reunited with his daughter.

Natalie Lewis has refused to comply with a British court order to return Jessica Monkman. It is thought they are in Ohio since leaving the UK in March.

Nathan Lawrence, 35, from Birmingham has been fighting for his daughter's return - and said the message he wanted to give his former partner of 10 years was: "Jessica is our daughter, not your daughter. You had no right to take her."

Natalie with Jessica

Mr Lawrence’s lawyer Pam Sanghera, of The Family Firm Solicitors in Birmingham, said Ms Lewis had “secretly” married an American man in the United States.

She said she and Mr Lawrence split in 2010 after a ten-year relationship.

The father-of-one told the Birmingham Mail: “This will be the first Christmas that I’ve ever spent without her. I was told by the court I was allowed to see her on Christmas Day, it’s my time. Without my daughter there is no Christmas, there is no happiness.

“I’m worried she thinks I don’t care about her. I love her, I miss her and I will continue to fight for her until my last breath. I just want her home.”