PEARL GAVAGHAN DA MASSA

DOB: 06-Apr-2004
Missing: 01-Dec-2008
Age Now: 6
Sex: Female
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 3'7" (109 cm)
Weight: Unknown
Missing From:
MACHESTER
Lancashire
United Kingdom
HELEN GAVAGHAN

Mother
DOB: 14-Jun-2007
Sex: Female
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
Weight: Unknown

Pearl was believed to be taken to India by Mother Helen Gavaghan. She has been missing from Manchester since 01/12/2008cit has been suggested that they may be in the US and there has also been a possible sighting in Canada. Pearl is about 3ft 7inches tall, has brown eyes and brown hair and has a scar on her lip.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
NPIA Missing Persons Bureau
on 0808-100 8777

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Greater Manchester Police, 0161 872 5050

http://uk.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=UK0209GMP00199&orgPrefix=UK02&searchLang=en_GB

Mother abducted five-year-old daughter and fled to America in tug-of-love battle

By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
Published: 11:20PM GMT 16 Dec 2009

Helen Gavaghan, 32, secretly snatched her daughter Pearl from nursery in Blackpool last December and fled abroad having changed her name by deed poll, after an acrimonious split from her partner, Henry Da Massa.

A High Court judge has declared that the child was removed illegally and allowed details of the case to be disclosed for the first time in the hope the pair can be traced.

Mr Da Massa, who had a shared custody agreement with Miss Gavaghan, has been desperately searching for the pair for the past year and has launched a website to appeal for help.

An international search is underway for the mother and child, led by Interpol, the US State Department and British police.

Pearl was last seen at the Old Moat Nursery in Withington, Manchester, on December 1 last year when she was collected by her mother.

They travelled to Cancun, Mexico, a week later – travelling on a passport under the mother’s new name, Meta International.

Checks have confirmed that they entered the US on 30th December, crossing into Texas on foot at the US border town of Laredo.

Neither have been seen or heard from since.

Police in Blackpool, where Mrs Gavaghan lived, found what appeared to be a forged court order at her former home, wrongly indicating sole custody of Pearl. Apart from changing her name she also withdrew a large amount of cash before fleeing abroad.

It is understood the couple had been living apart for some years prior to Pearl's disappearance.

She had been made the subject of a Shared Residence Order of the Manchester County Court in July 2008 by Judge Iain Hamilton in favour of both parents. It came after a bitter battle in the family courts over the course of several years.

Hearings about her abduction have been taking place in secret in the High Court, where a judge has declared that Pearl’s removal was unlawful.

In a statement on his website – missingpearl.co.uk - Mr Da Massa said that investigations by himself and police have shown that Miss Gavaghan went to “great lengths to cover her tracks following the removal of Pearl and had no intention of returning home”.

He added: “Pearl should now be in full-time education and may still be in need of medical attention. It is also possible that Helen may be in need of support in dealing with the upbringing of Pearl.

“Pearl is now five-and-a-half old and this will be her second Christmas away from home. There is a great deal of concern for both Pearl and Helen.”

Mr Da Massa was unable to comment directly on the case because of the restrictions made by the High Court.

Det Sgt Shaun Simpson, the officer leading the hunt on behalf of Greater Manchester Police, said: "There has been an acrimonious split between the mother and father which resulted in Pearl being taken overseas."

An entry on the Interpol missing children online database gives the girl’s full name as Pearl Rose Gavaghan Da Massa, says that she has light brown hair, green eyes and a small scar beneath her lower lip.

It is one of the most high profile international tug-of-love cases since that of Molly Campbell, a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was removed illegally from her mother’s home in the Western Isles to live with her father in Pakistan.

Louise Campbell admitted defeat in 2007 after a five-month battle to bring Molly back to Scotland and agreed an out-of-court settlement with her ex- husband.

It stipulated that Mrs Campbell could have access to the teenager only by visiting Pakistan, where she lived with her father, Sajad Rana, and her sister and two brothers in Lahore.

Pearl Gavaghan da Massa reunited with father in Canada
Pearl Rose Gavaghan da Massa Pearl Rose Gavaghan da Massa returned to the UK with her father on Monday
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A girl from Manchester who disappeared with her mother in 2008 has been reunited with her father in Canada.

Pearl Rose Gavaghan da Massa's mother Helen Gavaghan took her to Mexico and went on to move her to the US and then Canada without legal consent.

Ms Gavaghan and Henry da Massa had joint custody of their daughter.

Pearl, now seven, was found in Montreal on 16 September. She was reunited with her father the following week and the pair returned to the UK on Monday.

Extradition proceedings for Ms Gavaghan were under way in Canada, Greater Manchester Police said.

Det Ch Insp Colin Larkin said: "We are delighted Pearl da Massa has been reunited with her father and that she has been brought back to the UK safe and well.

"Officers from South Manchester CID worked tirelessly with Henry da Massa to do all we could to ensure this happened."
'Incredible moment'

A UK extradition warrant and an Interpol Red notice were previously issued for her, following concerns for Pearl's welfare.

Toronto Police believed they were living in an "alternative community" in the city.
Pearl Rose Gavaghan Da Massa Pearl was taken from the UK in 2008

However Pearl and her mother were eventually discovered when police were called to an incident in Montreal.

The youngster was taken into the care of social services and reunited with her father, who has been living in Canada for the past 18 months, on 21 September.

Mr da Massa said seeing Pearl again for the first time since December 2008 was an "incredible moment".

He said his daughter had become a "video game-playing fan of Scandinavian pop princess Robyn" who now speaks with a "yeeha accent".

"But she was the same kid with the same spark, the same smile, the same kind of behaviours and the same mannerisms that had made her a kid destined for great things," he said.
'Crazy life'

Mr da Massa said he hoped to get Pearl settled in Manchester and reintroduce her to school.

She has not been to school or seen a doctor since she left the UK, he said.

Mr da Massa added: "This was not about a dad who misses his kid, or a mother who wants sole custody.

"This is about a kid who has had a crazy life and getting her back to a safe place with relative security."