Help a Family After Finally Being Reunited

UPDATE:

DIF returned the kids to my care on October 25th and we were able to return to the US on the 26th. Your donations have allowed me to pay attorneys in Mexico who helped expedite the case, recover my travel expenses, and pay some of my attorney’s fees here in the US. The kids are enjoying being back home and adjusting back well to their normal school and home routines. I can still use additional donations to help pay for therapy for the kids and recoup some more of my legal expenses here in the US.

Original:

My name is Jeremy Fink, a teacher from Lexington, KY and a proud father to three wonderful children, ages 8, 5, and 4. My wife and I separated over a year ago and we had been time-sharing our kids since our separation. This was challenging, however the kids were thriving and we were beginning to take steps to come to a final agreement which would have allowed our kids to continue to have time with both of us, do well in school, and be active in our community.

On September 8th, a day before I would have picked up the kids from school, I received a text from their mom saying they were out of town and didn’t know when they would be back. Though I tried to get an answer as to why the kids were not in town and why they would be missing school, I never got an answer back. So the next day I hired a great lawyer who helped me file an emergency custody motion and the matter was discussed during our family court’s motion hour in which it was determined that the kids had been taken to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where their mother had been vacationing frequently during the previous months. The judge awarded me sole custody until a later hearing for the case and ordered the kids be returned to me by September 16th.

I excitedly waited for the day to arrive when my kids would return and couldn’t wait to see them. But that day did not come; their mother defied the court order and kept the kids in Mexico. Then I started getting increasingly erratic text messages and videos from their mother in the following days which made it clear that she was in a state of psychosis. In the videos the kids do their best to adhere to her requests. In one video she tries to get our 8 year old daughter to say that she hates me, despite her consistently starting with “I love dada”. Their mother’s resentment toward the circumstances surrounding our separation combined with her mental state have resulted in her trying to convince our children that I have abused them and that I am a bad person. She also messaged other family members with her erratic messages and videos which display her paranoia and psychosis.

If that weren’t enough, on September 19th, I received a phone call from one of their mother’s friends in Mexico. Through WhatsApp, he expressed his concern for the safety of my kids and informs me that their mother is battling drug addiction. He sent me several videos of her stating her delusions, damaging hotel property, and harassing hotel workers as they try to keep her and the kids safe.

After the shock of what was happening and that my kids were in danger set in, I booked the first appointment I could for a same day passport at the nearest passport agency, planned how to get the kids returned home safely with or without their passports, and called the hotel where the good samaritan had informed me the kids and their mother were staying. To my relief initially, the kids had been taken into DIF children’s protective services. The kids were safe in a shelter and were no longer subject to the neglect and erratic behavior suffered while in her care.

When I arrived in Puerto Vallarta and began meeting with DIF officials on September 25th, I was given a rosy picture that a process that took months to a year may be decided in just a few days or a little over a week. Unfortunately, it was later discovered that their mother’s psychological manipulation had taken hold as the kids had repeated some of the lies planted in their heads to DIF psychologists, and that the case was being handed off from local government control to state government control in Guadalajara. While I was reassured that the kids would not be returned to their mother, I received no definitive timeline as to how long the process of returning the kids home would take, even if we returned them to the US under CPS custody, an option I would welcome at this point, as the kids could resume school here in the US and a proper investigation could be conducted.

So now the kids and I are tied up in a legal process in a foreign country, I know very little Spanish (but am trying to pick it back up), and even though I am trying to stay within a budget of $100/day for hotel, food, and travel expenses, the reality is this is all costing money I don’t have. When the kids are eventually returned to the US, I am certain they will need extensive counseling to reverse some of the trauma they’ve endured. I continue to be resolved to work with US and Mexico government officials until I can get the kids returned home; I will never give up on my kids.

I thank you for taking the time to read our story and hope you will consider donating to help me continue the fight to bring my kids home. All money donated will be used initially toward travel, hotel, food, and legal expenses while in Mexico, legal fees if needed, and counseling for myself and the kids when we return home. If the amount donated exceeds those financial needs, I will use the excess to pay for their mother’s rehabilitation as I do not want our kids to grow up without a mother who is well. Thank you all for your help!