Winnipeg mother pleads for information on missing children

The mother of two children alleged to have been abducted by their father has made a public plea for information on the whereabouts of her son and daughter.

The children, seven-year-old Dominic Maryk and his six-year-old sister, Abby, had been on a two-week, court-approved vacation with their father, Kevin Maryk.

But they were not returned to their mother, Emily Cablek, as planned on Sept. 1.

Instead, police found Maryk's apartment had been cleared out and the car he had rented was overdue for return.

"It's been awful to look in the bedroom and see how empty it is and not being able to kiss the kids goodnight," Cablek said at a press conference Wednesday.

Cablek met her ex-husband in 1999 when she was 17. They began a rocky relationship that ended two years ago.

Cablek won full custody of the children in January, but court documents from the dispute outline a troubled relationship and a battle over custody.

Maryk, 37, claimed Cablek was an unstable influence and "incapable of caring" for the children, alleging she worked in the sex trade at a massage parlour and used illegal drugs.

Cablek claimed that Maryk forced her into a lifestyle involving in prostitution and drugs. She said in court documents that she felt trapped, "feared for her safety," and that Maryk had a "violent temper."

Child Find Manitoba director Christina Dzikowicz says a family's history is irrelevant when it comes to an abduction.

"What we know about parental abduction is that these situations and these decisions are rarely made out of the best interests of the kids and out of concern for the welfare of the children," she said.

"What we know is that usually parental abduction comes out of issues of control and anger towards a parent, and when parents are making those kinds of decisions, we worry about what that means for the kids."

Canada-wide warrant issued

Police maintain that they have no reason to believe the children are in imminent danger, but they have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Maryk for two counts of abduction.  

Cablek is less confident: "He was always threatening he would take my kids away, always saying I would never see them again," she said.

Abby Maryk, 6, has green eyes, wavy, shoulder-length and blond hair and weighs about 40 pounds. Seven-year-old Dominic has brown eyes and short brown hair and weighs 60 pounds.

Maryk, 37, is described as being about five feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 205 pounds. He most recently had a shaved head and goatee.

The three were last seen at a car rental agency in the area of King Edward Street in Winnipeg on Aug. 19, at the start of the authorized vacation.

Police declined to release a description of the rental vehicle, saying last week they don't know if he still has it or where he was headed.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Maryk or the children is asked to contact Winnipeg police at (204) 986-6250 or (204) 986-6222, or Child Find at 1-800-532-9135.