Just out of a Bellingham, Washington jail, Wilma Estrada sits in tears, her ex-husband by her side to provide comfort.
“We want our daughter back,” she said.
The B.C. woman now has to face the consequences of taking her own child across the border illegally, triggering an Amber Alert in Washington state.
Estrada said it was a move born of desperation.
“I just want her to be safe, no more of that mental torture for her there,” she said.
Estrada said the chain of events that led to Monday’s Amber Alert began when her marriage to Mark Weber fell apart two years ago.
The separation resulted in a nasty custody battle over their only daughter. Weber was originally granted custody but Estrada countered with allegations about his ability to be a good parent.
True or not, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) was forced to step in and take the child away from both parents. The nine-year-old girl has spent the last nine months in foster care.
“Wilma has never had a drink of alcohol in her entire life,” Weber said. “She doesn’t use any drugs. I am a very mild drinker. I don’t use any drugs. We’re not violent people whatsoever. There is no criminal history.”
Both parents say that while in foster care, their daughter’s mental health deteriorated to the point that she was diagnosed with selective mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder.
Estrada wasn’t willing for the proper process to unfold so she grabbed her child Monday afternoon and fled to the U.S. hoping to claim asylum.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert in Washington state and officers soon surrounded a Bellingham motel where Estrada’s car was found, but they couldn’t move in until they received the required paperwork from Canadian officials.
After more than an hour at the motel, police discovered the mother and daughter in a nearby church.
Estrada was arrested and her daughter was sent back to B.C. to another foster family.
Weber posted bail for his ex-wife and said he fully supports what she’s done.
“I think it was extremely brave,” he said. “Maybe she’s got a little more guts than I do. That’s something I wouldn’t have been able to do.”
In an email to Global News, an MCFD spokesperson said:
“Due to privacy laws, I can’t comment on this specific case.
“Where there are protection concerns, the ministry conducts an assessment and works to assure the safety and well-being of the child.
“If the assessment determines that a child can’t safely live with the parent, then a decision may be made to place the child in foster care.
Removing a child from a parent’s care is always a last resort – and is done to reduce the risk to the child if there are no other viable alternatives.“A judge makes the final decision about whether a child should remain in care or be returned to the parent(s).
“Our goal is always to return a child to his or her family – but only if and when it is safe to do so.”
Estrada now has a court date in Bellingham on Feb. 3. Charged with custodial interference, she faces the possibility of five years in prison.
More importantly for Estrada, custody of her daughter seems like a long way off.
“I’ll do anything for my daughter,” she said.
– With files from Aaron McArthur and Yuliya Talmazan