How kidnap victim Shannon Matthews was taken from loving grandparents after mum Karen was jailed
SHANNON Matthews, the nine-year-old victim in a notorious fake kidnapping, was taken from her loving grandparents and sent to live with a new family.
The youngster was cared for by social services after it emerged she was hidden by her mother Karen and accomplice Michael Donovan - who were later jailed. She is now 18.
Shannon's grandfather Gordon revealed his heartache over what happened.
He says he and his wife June, of Dewsbury, are occasionally kept informed by social services, but have no contact with the teenager .
He told the: "My one wish is that, when she is old enough to understand what happened properly, she will come and knock on that door.
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"But I fear it will be too late and I won’t be here to see her. I will be up there in heaven, looking down on her."
After she was found alive she was put into police protection - her location cannot be disclosed.
She has been given a new identity and lives with a new family.
When but when her grandparents went to court they were told they were reportedly told they were too old.
Her other six siblings were also put into care and given new identities under police protection.
The police have powers under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989 to protect children.
If the police believe a child is at risk of suffering significant harm in a situation then they can exercise powers to remove the child to suitable accommodation.
However the child cannot be kept in police protection for more than 72 hours.
The usual procedure would be for the child to then be turned over to the local authority to be placed into foster care.
It is at this point that a new name would be given so the child can start a new life in a new location with a new identity and family.
The young girl was missing for a total of 24 days before she was found by police.
During that time a massive investigation was launched to find her after she went missing on her way home from a swimming pool.
She had last been seen outside her school, Westmoor Junior School, in Dewsbury Moor, about half a mile from her home in West Yorkshire on February 19, 2008.
More than 250 officers and 60 detectives were involved in the search to find her.
West Yorkshire Police questioned 1,500 motorists and searched 3,000 houses.
Neighbours of the family in The Moorside estate, which gave a new BBC drama about the kidnapping its name, joined the search party, and reward money was offered as part of the appeal to find the youngster.
She was found alive on March 14.
The nine-year-old was found tethered and drugged inside the base of a double bed at relative Michael Donovan’s grotty flat almost a month after she disappeared.
An elasticated strap with a noose on the end was found in his loft and may have been used as a method of restraint when he went out shopping.
With it around her waist, Shannon would have been able to use the toilet and certain rooms, but not get out of the flat.
Police have described the moment they found her alive.
It later emerged Karen Matthews, Shannon’s mum, who was going out with Donovan’s nephew Craig Meehan at the time – had devised the elaborate plot with her accomplice in a bid to claim the £50,000 reward money for finding Shannon.
Images’ showing the conditions of the flat Shannon was held in for more than three weeks, while the local community in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, desperately searched for her, have been revealed.
On December 4, 2008, mum-of-seven Karen and Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.
Both were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to eight years behind bars.
It has been claimed Karen wrote "dirty letters" to pen pals from prison.
And her friend, the woman who organised the search for Shannon, Julie, has since said she believes Karen was trying to get away from Meehan, was pressured into calling the police and reporting her daughter missing, and was then tied to the lie..
Meehan was jailed for 20 weeks after unrelated child sex abuse material was discovered on his computer.
The mum-of-seven, who has been dubbed Britain’s Most Hated Mum, was released from prison after serving only half of her sentence.
Karen was freed in April 2012 after serving half of her sentence.
Then after The Moorside aired, she was exclusively pictured working at a charity shop.
When is The Moorside next on BBC and what is it about?
Episode two of The Moorside will air on Tuesday 14 February at 9pm.
For anyone who missed the first part of the show, you can catch up now using BBC's iPlayer.
The Moorside retells the story of the manhunt from the perspective of the friends of Karen Matthews.
Sheridan Smith plays neighbour Julie Bushby, the chair of the Moorside residents and tenants association that helped trace Shannon.
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