The family of a mother who went on the run with her three-year-old son after courts ruled the boy should be handed over to his father fear she will never see her child again once she is found or gives herself up.
Rebecca Minnock, 35, fled her home following a two-year battle for custody after it was decided that Ethan should live with his father, Roger Williams.
The missing woman’s aunt, Caroline Minnock, insisted none of the family knew where the pair were and suggested it was even possible she had left the UK. “It’s all got out of hand,” she said.“I think she’s in big trouble. I know for a fact now that she won’t see him [Ethan] again. She won’t even get visitation.”
Meanwhile Williams, speaking for the first time, said he was deeply concerned about his son. “I’m really worried about him; I just want him back,” he said.
Minnock, 35, fled her home in Highbridge, Somerset, with her son two weeks ago, prompting a police appeal to trace the pair. But the circumstances of their disappearance remained secret until reporting restrictions were lifted on Tuesday.
At Bristol crown court, judge Stephen Wildblood QC took the unusual step of allowing the facts to be reported to help find Ethan and reunite him with his father. “Any assistance by the press in finding out where he is will be gratefully received,” he said. “It is really important that we work together – the court and the press – to find where this child is.”
Minnock’s brother Marvin Shaw, sister Limmie Shaw and mother Louise Minnock, appeared before Wildblood. He warned them that they would face charges including contempt of court and perjury if they did not reveal what they knew about the whereabouts of Ethan and his mother.
Caroline Minnock, 54, said on Wednesday: “I know she [Rebecca] has spoken to her brother to say she is fine, but she has called from a withheld number. We don’t even know if she’s in the UK, I suppose.”
She said she was “gobsmacked” when members of the family had to appear in court. “It’s mad – absolute madness. I just don’t know what is going on. The police think they know where Becky is, but nobody knows. We just don’t know.
“We know she is safe but she is calling off a withheld number. She has called someone and said she’s fine but that’s it. We’ve let them [the police] into our houses. We’ve not got anything to hide. It has all got out of hand.”
Minnock’s family have launched a campaign claiming that she has been treated unfairly and let down by social services, police and the courts. In one Facebook post apparently aimed at Williams, Marvin Shaw wrote: “She’s not missing. I know where they both are. And there [sic] both very safe now and just to let you know because I know you are reading this.”
Shaw, also from Highbridge, has since insisted the message was motivated by anger towards Williams and said his Facebook post was false. Minnock’s sister and mother also deny knowing where they are. Shaw said he had received three phone calls from Minnock from a withheld number stating that she and Ethan were “safe and well”. He said his sister had suffered a “serious injustice” but that he would encourage her to return home when she next contacted him.
Ethan, who was born in January 2012, has lived with his mother since his parents’ separation in February 2013. Legal proceedings started between the parents in March 2013, when Williams applied for contact with his son. Magistrates ordered that Williams should have some contact with Ethan in the presence of Minnock in August 2013 but this arrangement broke down two months later.
In January 2014, Minnock made allegations against Williams. These were all rejected by a district judge in April 2014. A further hearing took place in February 2015 after Minnock made further allegations. A district judge found these had been “fabricated” by Minnock to “frustrate contact”.
Ethan began to spend four nights a week with his father and three nights a week with his mother. A child psychiatrist, Dr Mark Berelowitz carried out a report on Ethan and found the boy had a “warm relationship” with both parents. However, Dr Berelowitz said Minnock did not accept that Williams was innocent of her allegations and had questioned Ethan “extensively”.
He recommended Ethan should live with his father and have supervised contact with Minnock, a view shared by a social worker.
Another court hearing was listed before a district judge on 27 May. Prior to the hearing, Minnock was advised Ethan would be taken to live with his father.
Minnock’s mother said she had spoken to her daughter shortly before she went missing. “She knew what was going to happen in court,” she said. “I think Ethan was going to go to his father, and after a couple of weeks she would get a call from Ethan and then maybe supervised access … I think she has panicked and couldn’t take it.”
The court heard that Minnock, who does not drive, was seen withdrawing cash at Asda in Highbridge at 8.17am on 27 May – the day of the court hearing. She was driven off in a black Ford Focus, which appeared to head towards Cheltenham, where members of her family live, arriving at 9.23am. The judge voiced suspicions that Minnock’s family knew more than they were letting on, but said contempt had not been proven.
Minnock is described as about 5ft 3in tall and of medium build, with dark, wavy, shoulder-length hair. Ethan has blond hair and blue eyes.
