Family’s desperate bid to find boy, 8, who was abducted by his Polish mum and taken to her home country
Alex Bagnall has not seen his son Max for more than a year after his mother took him to Poland
THE family of a young boy abducted by his mother in Poland have received a boost to their campaign to bring the child home.
Max Bagnall, eight, has been missing for six months after he was taken away by his mother Jolanta Majda in her home country of Poland.
Now a Polish judge has given legal custody to Max's father Alex and demanded investigators quiz the maternal grandparents to try to trace the mother and son.
Alex has not seen his son for more than a year despite frantic efforts to trace him.
Max, from Rochester, Kent, was living with mother Jolanta before she took him to Poland despite his father refusing permission.
The boy has now not been seen since March, despite a Polish court ruling he should be returned to his father.
Police have now applied for a European warrant for the arrest of Jolanta, after they agreed there was enough evidence to charge the 31-year-old with abduction.
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Officers and CPS prosecutors have also been in contact with their Polish counterparts to discuss extraditing her once she is found.
And a Polish criminal court judge has asked for an investigation to take place and for police to speak to Jolanta's parents, and any other witnesses, in order to find her and Max.
Max has also been made a ward of court in the UK.
Through their Polish solicitor, Max's family have received a copy of a letter signed by Jolanta and hand-delivered by her parents to Max's school which states he is suffering from a chronic illness and has to stay at home.
Max's grandmother Pam McHale Bagnall says his mother Jolanta has signed a number of absence notes, claiming he is chronically sick, which have been hand delivered by her parents to the primary school he was supposed to be attending in Rzeszow, Poland.
However, she claims that they all give a false address.
Pam said: "We think this is a positive step as the criminal court will exercise their powers with all parties who support what is now more akin to kidnapping than abduction.
"But our appointment with the Foreign and Commonwealth office last week left us more desolate than ever.
"Remarkably it seems that the government can do very little to help a vulnerable child in this situation.
"We have asked for resources on the ground in Poland to ensure that the Polish police perform a proper search for Max.
"It's clear to us that the Polish police are doing the minimum to recover him and both Kent Police and the National Crime Agency has limited influence over them.
"We really do need the help of Polish people here in the UK and in Poland to find Max. The situation has become critical in terms of his safety.";
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