An American told how 20 had been on the run with her child for years and why nobody caught her

The mother, who, after a fierce fight for custody, kidnapped her own daughter in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent 20 years on the run, told how she made the decision to flee and why nobody arrested her all this time.

Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

In 1994, Dorothy Lee Barnett fought her husband Harris Todd in divorce court over custody of their daughter, who was named Savannah from birth until then. When the judge ultimately sided with Todd, the desperate mother came up with a wild plan to leave her home in the United States and everyone she knew and take her child with her, writes The Daily Mail.

While on the run, Barnett began keeping a diary for Savannah, whose mother's name was changed to Samantha, to explain to her in the future how it all began.

“A few months before my mother gave birth to me, she began to keep a diary,” begins the first page, signed: “To my dear Savannah. Someday I will give you this diary so that you, I hope, will understand your mother.”

“My name is Samantha Geldenhays. I was born Savannah. But I didn't know that. Savannah Lee Barnett. I grew up on Sunshine Coast, Australia. This is the most amazing place. I have known my mother Alex all my life. But she really wasn't Alex. Her name was Lee. ”

Marriage problems between Barnett and Todd began when Lee became pregnant less than a year after the wedding. Their relationship began as a friendship, but after five years everything changed. In marriage, the woman wanted children, the man categorically did not want. But she hoped she could change it.

Little Samantha / Savannah. Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

Since the announcement of the pregnancy, the husband has demanded an abortion. During the whole pregnancy, according to Lee, he repeated: "There will be no child, no child." The woman accused her husband of coldness and indifference. One day she woke up and saw that he was gone.

Before the child was born, the husband constantly tried to undermine the future mother’s confidence in her mental stability. He repeatedly told her that she had lost her mind, and when, trying to save their marriage, she would have asked to go to a psychiatrist, he diagnosed her with “bipolar disorder with a propensity for violence” and prescribed medication.

This fact the man decided to use against his wife when she had a baby. And although two forensic experts claimed that she was healthy and did not suffer from any disorders, it was decided to give custody to Todd, since Lee could be dangerous because of the risk of "committing a murder or suicide."

That same day, Todd took the little daughter from his mother. The woman realized that there was no one to help her, and decided to develop her own plan of salvation.

Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

She withdrew her last 10000 dollars from her account and took the child away during a scheduled visit, after which she sat in a rented car, where her older brother was waiting for her with prepared fake documents. Mother and daughter left for Atlanta airport and left the country. She had to return the child to 18: 00, but at that time the woman and the girl were already in Paris.

“I didn’t take a single minute of this freedom for granted. I don’t think I even smiled,” Barnett said.

Barnett and Savannah left Germany for France, then Malaysia, South Africa, Botswana and New Zealand. The woman decided to stop on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Later she married geologist Juan, whom she met in South Africa - he established a warm relationship with little Samantha. And then the couple’s common son, Rhys, was born.

Samantha / Savannah’s only father, whom she knew, Juan, left Barnett, loving another woman.

“She remained strong and resilient. And she was a great single mother,” Samantha says.

However, Barnett stumbled and told someone that she was in Australia, fleeing from "abusive" relationships in the States. This man called Todd.

Alex in Australia. Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

“I was on the phone at 7:30 in the morning and there was a big knock on my door,” Barnett said. "I was still in my pajamas, I opened the door and this man was standing there with a gun... and he said, 'I'm here with a warrant for your arrest.'"

“All we really had to do was identify Miss Barnett by her alias. And once we had that information, it was very easy for us to find the paper trail,” explained Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams.

The law "caught up" with Barnett in 20 years. She was arrested in 2013 year.

Juan, a man Samantha knew as her father, died a week before Barnett was arrested for bone cancer. The girl had time to say goodbye and say that she loves him.

Adult Samantha / Savannah. Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

After the arrest, Barnett phoned her daughter, who studied as a nurse.

"I said, 'Sammy, did you know we've never spoken to our family and friends in the US?' She replied: “Yes.” I said, “Well, I was married... And now I'm going to jail because I was accused of kidnapping you. And I replied that I had to protect you,” the woman explained.

"I had to call her back and say, 'Wait, does that mean Dad wasn't my Dad?' And then she started crying, and so did I,” Samantha said.

So Samantha, she Savannah, learned the whole story.

Adult Samantha / Savannah. Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

In court, according to Savannah, she “laughed in his face” when they tried to present arguments about mental disorders of the mother, with whom the girl had lived for more than two decades.

The FBI asked if her mother had hurt her, a question that shocked her.

“I had a wonderful life with her,” Samantha said. “She did everything she could and more to keep me safe.”

Barnett served 21 a month in prison on charges of internationally abducting a child by a parent and on two counts of passport fraud. She could be put behind bars on 23 of the year.

Mother and daughter. Photo: 48 Hours / YouTube

She believes that she did not kidnap her daughter because it is her own child, despite the fact that the law prohibited her from taking the child out of the country. “Legal rights be damned,” Barnett said.

She does not regret that she deceived Todd, depriving him of the opportunity to watch the girl grow.

"Everything is fine with me. I've never done anything violent. “I raised two amazingly healthy, smart, happy children,” she said. - So who is telling the truth? And who is lying?

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