Suspicion of child abduction: No trace of refugee children

The child and youth welfare office of the city of Vienna (MA 11) appealed to those people who gave the boy and the two girls shelter to contact the authorities. The reason for the deployment was that the mother had had the children in her care for seven months despite the temporary withdrawal of custody.

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Severe neglect

MA 11 has been in contact with the family since around 2011, actually since the birth of the eldest child, the now 13-year-old boy. The reason was a severe form of neglect by the 38-year-old mother, said MA 11 spokeswoman Ingrid Pöschmann. The children – now 13, eleven and four years old – had no structured daily routine and no child-friendly home due to the mother’s excessive demands. The school was only attended irregularly. According to Pöschman, there were several reports of danger and the 38-year-old also contacted the authorities for help.

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The woman’s children were then taken away in June 2023 to be taken to a crisis center. The mother would have supported that too. The plan was for the children to stay in this crisis center for six weeks and for the mother and children to solve the existing problems as best as possible. It was then considered whether they could return to their mother or whether a place would be sought for them in an assisted living community. “It quickly became clear that things were no longer possible at home,” said Pöschmann. The woman did not implement the steps she had considered and she quickly went into resistance.

Hiding with his daughter

The woman then went into hiding with her youngest daughter. The older children were transferred to a shared apartment, but soon ran away and probably went to their mother. MA 11 contacted the 38-year-old again and again. Attempts were also made to establish a working relationship with the children through school, but according to Pöschmann this only succeeded “by a millimeter” due to the conflict of loyalty to their mother. When the social workers came to the educational center, the children then stayed away from school for days. Proceedings at the guardianship court are still pending.

Last Thursday, MA 11 knocked on the woman’s apartment door again, which again didn’t open. However, the 13-year-old had just returned from school and he also desperately asked his mother to open the door. A neighbor who is friends with the 38-year-old couldn’t get her to open it either. Children’s voices could be heard from the apartment. MA 11 then asked for police assistance, which, according to Pöschmann, does not happen often.

Four-year-old rappelled from the second floor?

Shortly before the door was forced open, the woman let the officers enter. The middle daughter, aged eleven, was still in the apartment. There was no trace of the four-year-old. Authorities believe that the woman may have roped off her youngest child; there were knotted sheets hanging out of the second floor window. After the two older siblings were taken into care by child and youth welfare employees to be taken to the crisis center by taxi, both broke free and ran away, Pöschmann reported.

The woman was taken into custody on Saturday because of the risk of escape, concealment and the risk of committing a crime. However, according to the Vienna police, she refused to make any statements. A manhunt has been launched for the three children. Pöschmann wants to motivate the people who now have the children in their care not to be afraid and to contact the authorities. The eleven-year-old urgently needs an operation that has been necessary for months.

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