Thunder Bay man vows to bring his son home

A Thunder Bay man says Canadian authorities aren't enforcing a court order to get his two-year-old son back.

Gary Mezo said his ex-fiancee took their baby to Hungary almost a year ago. Both Mezo and the woman are originally from Hungary. The Ontario Court of Justice has ordered police to return the child to Thunder Bay, where he was born.

Mezo said that hasn't happened.

"I'm just ... outraged that I just don't get the respect that I think I would deserve, I should deserve … and my son especially," he said. "Nobody's helping."

A spokesperson for Thunder Bay police said a court order is very difficult to enforce after the other parent has already left the country.

'Heartbreaking'

Since January of last year, Mezo’s contact with his two-year-old son has been mostly limited to Skype chats, he said.

He saw the boy in person when he went to Hungary about a month ago. He recalled his son laughing and saying "Papa."

"It's heartbreaking because I missed his first words," Mezo said.

Armed with an order from the Ontario Court of Justice directing police to retrieve his son, Mezo thought the reunion would be permanent. But that didn't happen. He said the Ontario court order means nothing to officials there.  

Mezo alleged that Canadian authorities — including the Thunder Bay police — aren't acting on the order either. 

Chris Arnone, Mezo's lawyer, said the police are mandated by the order to assist, "but there's not been any assistance forthcoming to my ... knowledge, yet."

Thunder Bay Police Service spokesperson Chris Adams said the case is challenging.

"When you're dealing ... with a mother and child that have gone back to another country, it becomes a ... real conundrum as far as how to proceed," Adams said.

Mezo said he won't stop fighting his case in both countries.