Worst Thing For A Mother
It was eventually the moment where she would get answers to all questions she needed to be answered. She knew that what she had been going through something that other mothers would never imagine to. She never thought her life would be this painful.
She reached the Connecticut Airport and she was so away from her hometown in Canada. She was waiting to get the answers she needed and she knew all these answers worth 31 years of waiting. Yes, 31 years!
She Was Excited To See Him
It was a warm day in June, in the year 1987. Lyneth went to a dollar store which was situated on Islington Avenue. She got there to pick her son from his father. They had talked to meet each other at 4 in the afternoon.
Lyneth and her husband got divorced when their son Jermaine was very young. Jermaine’s parents shared custody. Even though his parents are separated, he was a happy child. Lyneth felt happy when she was seeing her son’s smile. Yet, she was not prepared for what was coming next.
She Had A Surprise That She Would Love
Raising a child was not that easy. Since Lyneth was a single mother, she missed certain things she should do. When Jermaine was with her father, Lyneth got the chance to do everything she missed like grocery shopping, paying bills, and so on.
She could not stop thinking about Jermaine when he was not with her. A stuffed toy caught her eye and she knew that Jermaine would love it. It was an adorable lion. She was happy and was waiting to give the toy to his son.
Waiting
Lyneth got to the place to pick up her son. She was already missing her son and thus she was checking time always. It was 4 p.m. While she was waiting she saw a happy family passing by her.
There was a small boy on his father’s shoulders. It reminded her of Jermaine. So she smiled at the boy when they passed by her. It was no 4.09. Lyneth started feeling uncomfortable.
Her Pulse Started Racing
Her heart began pounding when it was now 4.20. There was no trace of her son or his father and she started worrying about her son. She was feeling ill and she fell over. The stuffed toy dropped to the ground as she fell.
She soon realized what had happened. She could not believe that it was happening. She rushed to her car and started calling the police. She raced the car and drove, leaving the cute little stuffed toy on the floor.
Alone At Home
Lyneth went home. She still could not believe that her son was missing. Her home was empty without her son and his joyous smile. She sat on a chair in the kitchen, tearing with a throbbing headache.
Two days went by since she called 911 to report that her son was missing. She was waiting for Jermaine to come home. She hoped that he would show up at the door any minute now. She was excited to show him what she bought for him.
This Wasn’t Happening
Days, weeks, and months went by since Jermaine went missing. The police tried their best and carefully searched for the boy, but they could not find a trace. Lyneth was heartbroken and it was hard to console her.
Time went by so fast. All that Lyneth did was crying in her house alone. Now it had been many years and Lyneth was still crying on Jermaine’s 25th birthday. What had really happened to her son?
She Only Had Her Memories
Not only the police but also many other agencies tried their best to find Jermaine. The Missing Children Society of Canada was still attempting to find the boy even after 25 years. Lyneth only had a few photos of her son and she was determined to find Jermaine no matter what happened.
Lyneth suspected that her ex-husband stole her son away from him and went to America with him. Yet, there was no evidence to prove him guilty. Surprisingly, they got a hint about this pathetic incident.
Still Searching
Not only Lyneth’s country but also the U.S. organizations and authorities helped to find Jermaine with their resources. There was a project called the Charley project where it recorded the details of every missing child and adult that might be in America.
Even though there was so much effort put in to find Jermaine, they could not find a trace of him. Yet, there was this one person who was obsessed with finding Jermaine. He was ready to do what it took to find him. Guess who?
Breaking The Case Open
It was a retired police officer named Ted Davis. He had worked with the Missing Children Society of Canada for 30 years. He had known the incident of Jermaine and he had talked with Lyneth.
He saw the pain of Lyneth and how much she was suffering from the loss of her son. That was why Ted was so determined to find Jermaine. He was missing for 30 years when Ted got some hints about where he was.
Fresh Leads
Ted attended a conference along with members of the Toronto police and representatives of the United States in the same year. One of the main concerns in the meeting was Jermaine’s incident.
The attendees of the meeting were so concerned since Jermaine was missing for around 30 years! Ted left the conference without knowing that the investigators got some new hints to trace Jermaine.
A Crucial Clue
Investigators got the chance to get in touch with some people who had contact with Allan by the end of summer 2018. With the information every person gave them, they expected to find Jermaine soon.
Some of those people said that Allan went 500 miles east of Toronto to live in Connecticut. They were not certain about this fact. Yet, the investigators could contact one of Alan’s close friends and come across some vital information that would eventually lead to Jermaine.
Jermaine Is Alive?
This close friend of Allan revealed that he now lived using a brand new name and alias changing his identity. The new name of Allan was Hailee Randolph DeSouza. Police were so certain that they were so close to finding Jermaine.
They thoroughly searched all the official databases and social media. Consequently, they could find a match. The old name belonged to an old person who was living in Vernon. Vernon was a town near Connecticut, the capital of Hartford.
A Match Made In Heaven
Investigators wanted to get help from the forensic experts as the case was about to be solved. So they got some forensic experts to join their team. There was a photo of the driver’s license which was said to be DeSouza’s son. The forensic experts thoroughly examined this photo.
It was in October 2018 when the investigators and the forensic experts could confirm that DeSouza’s son and Jermaine are the same person. They looked compatible in all possible ways. Yet, first, they had to find Allan.
Tracking Him Down
The investigating team was so excited and happy as they could finally find the answers after several years. But they had to do something to catch Allan before he would make a move to vanish again.
According to a nameless source, Allan spent a lot of his time at the local KFC and he was a friend of the staff since he loved the food there. Hence, the team of investigators headed to the KFC intending to catch Allan.
The Arrest
As they reached the KFC, one of the members from the Connecticut Police Department shouted “This is the police,” confusing the workers and the customers. The investigators searched for Allan.
They found an elderly man was sitting in the corner of the restaurant. Confused, he raised his hands and confirmed that he was Allan. Yet, there was still one question. Where was Jermaine?
A Crucial Encounter
Police assumed that Allan had stolen Jermaine and traveled to the United States in 1986. They suspected that Allan and Jermaine have lived together in an apartment in Connecticut since 2004.
Police handcuffed Allan and when they were about to leave the restaurant, they heard someone calling Allan, “dad.” A middle-aged man with brown eyes walking towards them who looked exactly like Jermaine.
Living A Lie
Jermaine had lived with his father a life full of lies for several years. When Allan left Canada, he was able to get some fake documents, and then they had lived in New York, North Carolina, and finally in Connecticut.
Allan worked as a trucker and as an engineer when they were living in Vernon and Jermaine worked for the state. He had no idea that all these years his father been lying to him and his whole life had been a lie.
The Truth
All this time, Jermaine always wanted to know about his mother. All that Allan had told him that his mother died when she was giving birth to him. Jermaine noticed that all this information was vague.
Jermaine always missed the love of a mother. He would remember how his friends were picked up by mothers at the school and he never had that experience. He never expected that he would know anything about his mother when he was 33 years old.
What Kind Of Father Would Do This?
When Allan was spitting out the truth in court, Jermaine could not believe what he heard. He was hurt and heartbroken. He wept and sobbed like a child. He could not understand how his father did this to him. The court ordered that he would not be charged with kidnapping, but he would be deported to Canada for further charges.
Jermaine felt so lost when he stepped out of the court. He was hurt to the core and did not know what he should do. But suddenly he realized something – his birth mother! Yes, she was alive!
The Call That Changed Her Life
Ted phoned Lyneth and told her the good news. She could not believe it. After all these years, they had found Jermaine! Her baby boy was safe and alive! She finally got some peace after 31 years!
She was speechless and happy. She burst up with tears remembering how much she suffered due to the loss of her son. Everything was over now and she could see her son again!
Words Couldn’t Express It
What else on earth Lyneth ever want in her life? The only wish she had was to hear anything about her son and now she got what she wanted. “Words can’t express what I felt,” she said at a press conference in 2018.
Lyneth unveiled that the words, “Your son is alive; we’ve found him” were the most beautiful words she heard in her life. Holding her excitement, she headed to Connecticut to see her long-lost son.
The Reunion
She reached Connecticut and it was Jermaine, who was supposed to pick her up. Lyneth could not hold her excitement to herself. She was eagerly waiting for her son. How would he look like? It was all like a dream for her.
A tall and dark person appears and he was coming towards Lyneth. It was not hard for Lyneth to identify Jermaine. She recognized his face and the brown eyes. Her heart was pounding. It was her son!
Never Letting Go
Crying, they ran towards each other. They were so emotional and soon enough, Lyneth and Jermaine felt the warmth of each other after 31 years! Both were too emotional and crying without stopping.
They were hugging each other so tightly as they never want to let go again each other. They had many questions which needed answers, but, at the moment, embracing each other was everything they needed.
The Same Eyes
Lyneth was feeling all kinds of emotions at the moment. She said crying, “I grabbed him and squeezed his head; I want to feel if he’s real. I touched him, and I said, ‘Oh my God, my baby.”
Jermaine refused to face any public interviews first, as he still felt as it was a dream. Yet, Lyneth told that Jermaine said something so touching when they first met. He had said that their eyes look the same.
Home-Cooked Dinner
As Lyneth and Jermaine finally got together, they spent some quality time with each other. Lyneth was so excited to know about what happened to Jermaine’s life in all these 31 years.
Lyneth wanted to make a home-cooked meal for Jermaine and she bought the ingredients. Then she learned that Jermaine was a vegetarian. Yet, “he said, ‘You know what, Mommy? Cook the chicken. I’m gonna eat the chicken,’” Lyneth mentioned.
Never Apart Again
At the moment, Lyneth was confused about moving closer to her son. Nonetheless, she said in the interviews that she would do whatever it takes to be with her son and never to get separated again.
Her feelings were all mixed up to decide anything at the moment. Yet, she wanted to unveil what Allan did all these years. So she was ready to open up and tell the public about Allan’s terrifying actions.
Sad
Lyneth was not angry about what Allan did, she was just heartbroken and disappointed. “I just thought it was sad for him to have done what he did,” Lyneth confessed. “You never take a child from its parent – no matter what.”
At the same time, Lyneth realized that she missed most of the time of her son’s life. She missed all his childhood. “I have to respect the fact that he was a child; he didn’t know anything,” she explained.
He Had No Choice
“So, what was given to him, he had no choice but to live with that,” Lyneth went on. “And so, if the name that he has right now, he would like to respect that, then I’m gonna stand with him.”
Also, Lyneth confessed it was difficult for her to call her son by his new name. “To me, my son has always been Jermaine, so yes, that sticks for me,” she explained. He would remain Jermaine for the rest of his life his mother.
Giving Thanks
Lyneth never forgot to be grateful during a news conference. She took that opportunity to thank everyone who helped her to find his son constantly without giving up for all 31 years. She was obliged.
She especially thanked the MCSC and authorities of both countries for never giving up on his son. Also, she said that she hoped her story would inspire all the other parents would lose faith.
“Be Strong”
“I am the proof that after 31 long years of suffering – 31 long years – one should never give up,” Lyneth described. “But be patient, be strong, and believe that all things are possible and that anything can transpire.”
At the same time, not only Lyneth but also John Durham, Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney spoke on behalf of all the investigators who worked so hard constantly, without giving up to bring Jermaine home.
In Violation
“After taking his son away from his son’s mother, this defendant is alleged to have lived a lie for the last 31 years in violation of numerous U.S. laws,” Durham stated in an official statement in 2018.
“We thank the many law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada that have investigated this matter, worked hard to apprehend this fugitive, and finally provided some answers to a mother who has suffered from her son’s absence for far too long.”
An Unusual Case
Jermaine’s disappearance made an extraordinary case as it was an exception to the rule of what an actual common crime was. This case was surprising for most people since it was dragged for 31 years.
“This is believed to be the longest case in North America – if possibly not the world – where an abducted child is reunited with a parent where they’re both in a safe condition,” Banks explained.
