An infant girl abducted in South Carolina 19 years ago has been discovered living a "normal life" in Australia, authorities announced, while her mother faces federal kidnapping and other charges.
Savanna Catherine Todd, now 20, from Isle of Palms, S.C., vanished in April 1994 amidst her parents' acrimonious divorce. Until this month, she had not been seen, U.S. Attorney for South Carolina William Nettles said in a statement.
The statement provided few specifics, only noting that Todd "has been located and found to be safe, healthy, and otherwise living a normal life," and that her mother, Dorothy Lee Barnett, was arrested on Nov. 4 in Australia.
Barnett—now 53 and residing in Queensland under the aliases Alexandria Maria Canton and Alexandria Maria Geldenhuys—was denied bail on Wednesday and ordered extradited to the United States. No hearing date has been set.
A grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Charleston charges Barnett with one count of international parental kidnapping and two counts of making false statements in passport applications when she attempted to return to the U.S. in 2003 and 2004. She faces up to 23 years in prison if convicted.
According to police and missing persons records from the original investigation, Savanna was 9 months old when she disappeared on April 24, 1994. Her father, Harris Todd, a prominent developer in Kentucky and South Carolina, had custody, but Barnett was permitted supervised weekend visits. During one visit, Barnett convinced the supervisor to let her take Savanna to a birthday party unescorted, according to case records. They never returned.
Court documents filed during the divorce proceedings allege that Todd accused Barnett of heavy drinking during her pregnancy with Savanna and of having untreated bipolar disorder.
Over the years, Barnett was reportedly sighted in Texas, Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, Belize, and Mexico. Nettles' statement did not detail how Barnett was eventually found but specifically thanked the Australian Federal Police for their assistance. Savanna Todd is the daughter of Dorothy Lee Barnett and Benjamin Harris Todd. They met in Charleston, South Carolina in 1987, began dating in the fall of 1990, and within a year, she had moved in with him. According to him, her "public" side was bright and vivacious, though he claims she also had a dark and moody side, with temper tantrums over insignificant issues.
Despite their turbulent relationship, Lee and Harris married on December 28, 1991. Lee's friend Sonya was astonished given their volatile relationship. According to Harris, the first month of marriage was smooth, but Lee's outbursts soon became more frequent and intense. Harris recalls a night when Lee became angry, claiming he no longer took her out to eat, even though he had just done so the previous Saturday. When he tried to calm her, she grew angrier, threw a glass at him, and attempted to hit him. Initially, Harris attributed her behavior to drinking.
One night, Harris was awakened by a strange banging sound. At first, he thought it was a storm because of the flickering lights. When he investigated, he found Lee banging her head against the wall. According to Harris, the mood swings and fights continued even after Lee became pregnant, culminating in a crisis in October 1992, when he left after ten months of marriage and filed for divorce in January 1993.
Savanna Catherine Todd was born on May 6, 1993, sparking a battle over visitation rights. Social worker Janya Sommers was appointed by the court to protect Savanna's interests. It was evident to Janya that Lee did not want Harris to have access to Savanna, though he felt the opposite.
Both underwent psychiatric evaluations. One psychiatrist declared Lee mentally healthy, while another psychiatrist and two psychologists diagnosed her with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive syndrome. Lee denied being "crazy" and refused treatment. Harris was awarded full custody of Savanna due to Lee's outbursts posing a potential threat to Savanna's well-being. Lee was granted visitation rights every other weekend.
On Friday, April 22, 1994, Lee picked up Savanna from Harris' mother's house for her fifth visit. She did not converse with him or inquire about Savanna’s well-being and quickly drove off. The next day, she asked a friend for a ride to downtown Charleston. She and Savanna have not been seen since.
Since Savanna's abduction, Harris has had recurring nightmares of being tested on his ability to recognize his daughter in a room full of little girls, reflecting his fears of never seeing her again.
It is believed that Lee was aided by "Children of the Underground," an organization helping mothers escape allegedly abusive husbands, although Harris denied being abusive. Despite several reported sightings of her and Savanna since 1994, they were never located until 2013.
Lee faced charges for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and violating a custody order, with Harris offering a $5,000 reward for information.
This case was first aired on October 20, 1995, and profiled on "Missing" and "Dateline" after it was resolved.
Results: Solved. Lee and Savanna were found in September 2013 on Australia's Sunshine Coast, where they had been living for several years. Lee remarried in 1995 and assumed fictitious names for herself and Savanna. She claimed she abducted Savanna because Harris was abusive, though no evidence supported this. Lee was extradited to the United States, pled guilty to kidnapping, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release, which concluded in 2017.
Savanna, now known as Samantha Geldenhuys, returned to the United States to support Lee. In 2014, she was reunited with her maternal relatives and in 2015, finally with Harris. She hopes to maintain relationships with both parents.
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