Rachelle Dalton, consular officer in Mexico

May 25 is Missing Children’s Day. Every year, hundreds of Canadian children are wrongfully taken from Canada or held in another country by abducting parents.

Rachelle Dalton, Counsellor and Consul at the Embassy of Canada in Mexico, talks about her experience with these situations.

“International child abductions are challenging; first because they involve children, and second because they are usually long and drawn out. They are not unusual, especially in Mexico since we are so close to Canada.”

Canadian officials work closely with local and international authorities to advocate for the safety, protection and well-being of Canadian children.

“I get involved when the situation is dire—when everything has been done legally to no avail or when there are communication problems between the family and local authorities. My team and I work in close cooperation with Government of Canada partners such as the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and the Passport Program. There would be no way to resolve these types of cases without all of us working towards the same goal.”

“The hardest part in these cases is that there is sometimes very little we can do, because we do not necessarily have the consent of both parents to help their child. But when there is progress in a case, it happens very quickly and we have to be ready to make lightning-fast decisions. Our main goal is always the safety of the child.”

The grandmother of a child that Rachelle helped in an international abduction case wrote this about her experience:

“Rachelle's determination and ability to work under pressure were put to the test when she was working on our case. She was amazing! Government of Canada officials made sure we were looked after, right to the end of our long struggle.”