This horrendous story–TV told father of son’s drowning (BBC, 10/22/07)–encapsulizes many of the wrongs in our current system. The boy (pictured) is a hero who died saving his little stepsister from drowning. His dad is a loving father who was separated from his son against his will by his ex-wife, who abducted the boy while the father was abroad serving in the British Army. The father paid child support, but the Child Support Agency wouldn’t tell him where his son is. The story is below.
Also, this story gives some details of the father’s long search for his sons. For those of you who might be wondering if the mother is going to be criminally prosecuted for abducting the boys, I’m not sure you read me correctly–I said the children were abducted by their M-O-T-H-E-R, so the answer is obviously “no.”ÂÂ
TV told father of son’s drowning
(BBC, 10/22/07)
The estranged father of a 10-year-old boy says he did not learn of his death by drowning until four months later.
John Prestwich said he discovered that Jordon Lyon had died from a TV report on the inquest into his death in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The case caused controversy after it emerged that two police community support officers (PCSOs) had declined to jump into a pond to save him.
Mr Prestwich told BBC Five Live he had lost contact with the boy’s mother.
Jordon jumped into the pond in an effort to rescue his step-sister as they played together in May. Fishermen managed to save his step-sister from the water.
Moved house
Mr Prestwich said he had separated from Jordon’s mother, Tracy Ganderton, eight years ago, but initially had regular access to Jordon and their other son, Brandon.
He said he was serving in the Army at the time, and had returned home on leave one weekend to find that his ex-wife and children had moved house, leaving no new address.
Mr Prestwich said he had tried to trace them through the Child Support Agency (CSA) but was told details could not be given out due to the Data Protection Act.
It was not until he saw the news in September that he realised Jordon had died, he said.
“It was like someone had hold of my throat and I couldn’t get any words out, I just collapsed on the floor,” he said.
“In my eyes, if I was in contact, I might not have been there on that specific day but I know that I would have been able to go to the hospital and actually see him.
“I know that he was looking for me, so just me turning up at the hospital, saying I was there, could have been enough to bring him round.
“The fact that I have had to turn up in September, four months after he died… I just wish that I had been contacted.
“I know I am on the system, the electoral register. I am available to be found if someone looks, and I’ve done that on purpose, so that if Jordon and Brandon did decide to look for me, they could find me.
“Nobody should be watching the news one day and find out that their son’s died – nobody.”
Read the full article here.
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