A British woman from Liverpool recently found her now adult son on Facebook after being unable to find him since he was abducted by his father. The woman was married to a Hungarian man, but they got divorced. The ex-husband had visitation rights and took the boy to the zoo, but never came back. The ex-husband took the then 3 year old boy back to communist Hungary and was not heard from for 27 years.
The boy’s aunt and mother appealed to parliement and the Prime Minister, but they were unable to help get the boy back. Fast forward to 2009. The boy’s aunt googled his name and the first hit was his Facebook page. They sent him a message and a phone number and waited. After two weeks, he messaged back and he was able to be reunited with his mother.
This story shows the incredible power of the Internet and social networks in general. Its not to see a story in the media about some of the benefits of social networks, rather than stories about the dangers. I wonder how many other missing children are on Facebook without their parents’ knowledge?
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