Jeff Doyle used to think his life was the stuff dreams were made of. He had a whirlwind romance on foreign soil with a beautiful flamenco dancer. They returned to his hometown of Campbell River, had a child and planned to live happily ever after.
But his dream has turned into a nightmare. Doyle has not seen his daughter since September 2013 and doesn’t know where she is.
He met Christina Guzman Islas in Tokyo in 2005. They were married in Victoria in 2006 and three months later, little Sofii Doyle, gingerhaired and the apple of her father’s eye, was born in Campbell River.
The family moved to Mexico for five years, but returned to Canada in 2011. Jeff, Christina and Sofii lived with Jeff’s mother, Jan Wade, in Campbell River until May 2013.
Christina became restless in Campbell River and was not able to pursue her dancing. She became increasingly frustrated and the couple talked about relocating to Victoria, where there would be more opportunities for her.
Before that happened, Christina took Sofii to Mexico with her in July 2013 for a three-week visit and then returned.
Two months later, she wanted to go again. As required, Doyle signed a permission document for the three-week visit. It's something he now regrets.
Christina and Sofii did not return to Canada.
Fearing the worst, Doyle started the process of getting Sofii returned. He obtained a decision from the Supreme Court that Sofii, now eight years old, was wrongfully removed from British Columbia.
Mexico had signed the Hague Convention, which ensures the prompt return of an abducted child to his or her home country.
The problem began when the RCMP, whom the Doyles have praised for being extremely helpful, recommended child abduction charges to Crown prosecutors. But the Crown put on the brakes.
The case was forwarded to Nanaimo and Victoria Crown prosecutors, who also turned it down.
“It was a situation where the Crown concluded there wasn’t a substantial likelihood of conviction on child-abduction charges,” said Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie.
“At the time that the suspect left Canada with the child, there was no custody order in place and she had the consent of the complainant to take the child out of the country.
“And the Crown wasn’t satisfied that the available evidence established that when she left Canada she did so with the intent to unlawfully deprive the child’s father of custody, so there wasn’t a basis to allege an offence of abduction.”
He said another branch of the Ministry of Justice could look at the case. “There’s provision of assistance to parties who are seeking to regain custody through the Hague Convention provisions on civil aspects of international child abduction.”
Wade said: “No one, it seems, will step up to the plate and do something. I have contacted everyone I can think of. Local to national politicians, even the prime minister. I find this appalling.”
Doyle has spoken to his daughter fewer than six times in the 11 months she has been gone. The contacts are fewer and the conversations are monitored and often interrupted by Guzman.
When he does talk to Sofii by Skype, he tells her everyone is looking for her, everyone loves her and misses her, but recently that conversation was interrupted by Sofii’s mother, who told the child in front of Doyle that no one cares for her and no one loves her, and that was the reason she could not go home.
That conversation was on Father’s Day. He has not been able to reach her since.
Additional reporting by Jeff Bell, Times Colonist
