By Joe Fotalattee
A 5-year-old Mount Vernon boy returned to Seattle early on Friday, accompanied by FBI agents and victims’ rights activists. After arriving, the boy met up with his natural mother.
According to police, the boy was abducted by his foster mother Amber Dinges, 60, and foster parent Amanda Dinges, 35. The two women, who are not in custody, will be the focus of the police’s attention now that ND has been located, according to police. Despite claiming that extradition and international warrant recognition are “complicated processes,” Mount Vernon police say they believe the suspects to be in Vietnam.”
The birth mother’s lawyer, Brittany Tri, said: “She said that he’s doing good, that he was excited to see her.”. Though she did mention that he is extremely tired, they are both excited, so the excitement is reciprocal. “.
Tri added that she was unaware of the boy having a passport, so she is unsure of how he managed to leave the country.
The search for the boy started in November. 28 when Child Protective Services notified Mount Vernon police that Dinges might have taken the boy with them.
Police found that Amanda Dinges had turned off her phones, left her last-known address, and left the area.
CPS informed the police that the child had not attended school since November. According to probable cause records, Dinges’ apartment had a notice of abandonment posted on the door.
A neighbor reported to police that she saw them and overheard the women telling the boy they “were leaving here. After Amber’s “awkward” response to her neighbor’s question about whether or not they were moving, the neighbor quickly tried to switch the topic of conversation.
On Nov. 21, the apartment’s managers discovered Dinges’ unit’s keys in the office, which they assumed had been returned over the weekend.
When the boy missed the visit with his biological mother that was supposed to happen on Nov. 25, according to Brittany Tri, the biological mother’s attorney, she got in touch with her caseworker. The employee saw the message on November 28 and CPS notified the police of their concern for the child’s safety.
Mount Vernon police claimed they found the boy and the Dingeses in Thai Binh, Vietnam, which is about 70 miles southeast of Hanoi, through interviews and information gathered from 25 search warrants.
At 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Hanoi’s American Consulate took custody of the boy. On Thursday, the FBI and advocates met the boy in Tokyo after he had flown there. A warrant for Amanda Dinges’ arrest was issued after she was charged with second-degree kidnapping. The second-degree kidnapping was allegedly on December 2.
A court order was entered by attorney Brittany Tri allowing the boy to begin living with his birth mother. Tri claimed that when he was allegedly abducted by the foster mother, the state had already begun the transition for him to live with her. For six months, CPS will monitor the boy and his mother and keep the case open.